Who Watches the Watchmen
by Phantasmal Abduction
Summary: Veld is in charge of the Turks and rules with an iron fist. Punishment for infractions is severe, swift and merciless. Reno is... Well Reno and rules don't mix. What will Tseng do to keep Reno safe? Rated M for a long list of things. I'm slightly twisted.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: First of all I want to add some warnings. There is a horrible rape scene in this chapter so if you don't want to read that then don't. Also this is a dark, gory and bloody story involving the aforementioned rape, attempted suicide and murder.**  
**Second, I have just come back around and reposted each chapter with small revisions and some grammar corrections. It is all unbeta-ed but I hope it's not too bad.**

**Lastly I realize I had no disclaimer. I own nothing of Final Fantasy VII or it's characters and I make no profit from my writings.__**

_I'm sorry... I know I fucked up, but I didn't mean to... I tried so hard to do what you wanted... I'm so sorry for failing you... Why do I always have to screw everything up? Fuck I'm worthless..._

Reno lay slumped against the wall struggling to breathe through the stabbing pains of his broken ribs. Unsure if he was alone and thus able to find a rag a start cleaning up the splashes of blood surrounding him, the redhead attempted to raise himself up onto his elbows. This was a big mistake. The slight movement Reno was able to make set off a massive bolt of pain through his body and dragged a broken groan from his torn throat.

It had seemed to the almost comatose man that this was pretty much as bad as things could get, but on reflection he was puzzled as to why he had thought this at all. Things could, and would, always get worse for him. It was what he deserved after all... Wasn't it? As the moan of pain echoed in the silent room Reno caught a glimpse of movement from the corner of his eye. All he managed to see before he was slammed back into unconsciousness was a foot adorned with a solid steel toed boot heading straight for his face.

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Worried voices filled the air until it seemed like the whole world was full of incomprehensible sound. Mingled in with the low yet purposeful muttering were the sounds of buzzing and beeping machines. The surface he was lying on vibrated with an irregular rhythm suggesting a vehicle and only after placing this sound was he able to distinguish the overriding howl of an ambulance siren defining the background buzz.

Forcing himself against his better judgement Reno cracked his eyes open a tiny slit and tried to make full sense of what was going on. Right in front of his face, scrutinizing his every twitch was the most beautiful pair of brown eyes he had ever seen. Forgetting he was trying to scope out his situation, Reno's eyes widened and he stared dazedly at the person in front of him. The face containing the eyes withdrew slightly and an urgent gesture drew a medic to their side.

Melodic and deep a voice intoned, 'He's awake at least but doesn't seem alert. Run your tests now Mr Wallace before he passes out again. I don't think he will stay conscious for long.'

The deep brown eyes drew back further and were replaced in Reno's view by a gigantic blur of brown skin and white paramedics uniform. Reno moved his gaze to the shaking ceiling of the ambulance he figured he was in and tried to regulate his breath while the paramedic took his blood pressure and gently palpitated various parts of his anatomy checking for internal injuries. When the man's hands pressed against his left ribcage however Reno let out a choked scream and passed out, falling back into darkness for a long time.

Tseng tried not to let his emotions show on his smooth tanned face but when Reno cried out and lost consciousness again it was all he could do to refrain from punching something. Instead of releasing his boiling temper the second in command of the Turks snapped an order at the driver to hurry the fuck up and get to the hospital before he threw him out of the car and took over himself. Just because he did not break things the way Rude had done when he saw Reno's condition did not mean he wasn't feeling just as much rage over the man's condition.

The ambulance hurtled down the narrow streets of Midgar and screeched to a halt at the entrance to the ShinRa Private Hospital. There was a medical centre in the Turk headquarters in ShinRa Corp buildings, but as Reno was found on Turk premises in his current condition, Tseng was not about to permit his next in command anywhere he might be still at risk. So Reno was whisked past the usual interminable queues and taken straight to a quiet, private room on the fourth floor to await a doctor.

Even though the paramedics were very, very quick and efficient at rushing Reno to his room, Tseng was by the side of the stretcher for every inch of the journey. Now, sitting at the side of the bed, the Wutaiin Turk stared blankly at the paler than ever, motionless body of his favorite (don't tell anyone!) Turk and brooded on what the hell could have happened to Reno to result in this.

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_5 Hours Earlier._

The clouds that so often smothered the Plate due to the mako reactors drifted so low they were almost at head height. Reno sniggered as he looked out of the window at the poor saps who had to scurry through the mist that hung below the clouds. Dragging his gaze back into the building where he worked, Reno swore almost under his breath when his eyes settled on the stack of notes he had to magically turn into a report before tomorrow morning. Halfheartedly he brushed a page of sloppily written notes to the middle of his desk and then proceeded to scatter everything all over the floor jumping for his vibrating phone.

After a brief period where man and desk fought for supremacy Reno managed to locate his phone and answer the angry sounding tone. Hanging half over the back of his desk surrounded in crumpled paper he gasped out, 'Yo Reno here, 'sup?'

The curt yet bland voice on the other end nearly made Reno swallow his tongue (upside down I might add, quite a feat) and he yanked himself back into his seat while trying to sound somewhat professional. 'Sorry Sir, just having some trouble with my phone reception. Where do you need me?'

Tseng walked past Reno's bomb-site of a cubicle at this point and was amused to see the look of sheepishness mixed with 'oh crap I've been caught' on his subordinate's face. He left before he could see the panic and terror that followed the more innocent expressions as Reno was ordered peremptorily to appear in the basement training room within five minutes.

Murmuring an affirmative noise into the receiver Reno hung up his phone and spent two of his five minutes sitting limply in his chair staring at nothing. He had been ordered more than once to report for discipline under any number of superior Turks, but he dreaded the sessions in the basement. These sessions were always under one specific boss and he was never able to leave without finding a Cure Materia from somewhere to help him walk again. Silently he cursed himself for not handing in his (actually finished) report on time this morning. Well, he had only himself to blame for this one.

In four minutes and thirty seconds Reno was standing at the door of the lowest training room. He bit his lip in chagrin at being stupid enough to end up here again over a stupid fucking report. Gaining control of himself he stepped smoothly forward and strolled through the door as if he wasn't about to get the total shit beaten out of him.

Standing in the shadows of the small, concrete-brick room was a hulking figure shrouded in shadow and an aura of menace. As Reno walked to stand in the centre of the room, the semi-concealed man circled round behind him and slammed the door closed. Even with the stoic self-control taught in the Turk indoctrination the redhead couldn't suppress a slight flinch as his only avenue of escape was cut off.

Veld glared malevolently at his subordinate and took cruel pleasure in the fear he could feel radiating off of Reno. He viciously punished any Turk who was so much as thirty seconds late with a report but he could not express the pleasure it gave him to hear the pained grunts and hisses that Reno in particular voiced during the 'disciplinary' sessions. Silently he continued to circle Reno until he was directly behind the tall man and there he stood motionless until Reno began to tremble slightly in apprehension. As soon as Reno let a shiver run through his form, Veld lunged forward and locked his solid arm around the other man's throat while bulling him forward until he was crushed against the opposite wall.

Reno had begun to wonder if his boss had evaporated behind him and shivered at the thought when he felt his air choked off and found himself smashed against the cinderblock wall. He couldn't help giving a convulsive twist, instinctively trying to free himself but cursed his instincts when Veld sent a thundering left hook into the bottom of his ribcage driving any remaining air right out of him. Helpless against the Director's brute strength Reno settled for trying to get a gasp of air back into his lungs.

Totally enraged by the small show of resistance from his inferior agent Veld lost any sense he had left of rules and correctional regulations. He had always reveled in the feeling of breaking the fiery redhead, but this time he would teach the cocky shit who was in charge. He grabbed the wrist of the arm around Reno's neck in his other hand and slowly exerted backwards pressure until Reno was lifted up onto his toes and all his weight hung from his neck. He kept this excruciating position until he felt Reno go limp and with all his strength flung his body at the opposite wall.

Reno didn't even feel himself hit the wall, he was too disoriented and oxygen-deprived to do more than lie there and suck in rasping breaths. He did however notice his arm fracture in more than one place as he landed on it when he hit the floor. The grinding of his bones forced a scream from his squeezed windpipe but he bit his lip to stop anything further from escaping his lips. He knew from experience that Veld only got worse if he made a sound.

What Reno didn't know was that Veld had already tipped over the delicate line between his usual mindset and madness. The scream Reno had let out only served to inflame him further. A feral smile curling the corner of his mouth Veld stalked slowly across the room enjoying every agonized gasp as Reno sucked in air.

Reno's time of relative reprieve was cut off when he felt rather than saw Veld's fist swing down and into his unprotected stomach. He tried to curl up at the explosion of pain in his midsection, but the dark haired man rained down heavy punch after heavy punch until he could hardly lift his arm. Reno stared blankly at at his boss's contorted face while trying not to pass out, two tears of pure pain slowly running down his face.

Tears. Now that was something Veld had not been able to elicit from the redhead in any previous correctional session. Seeing the look of total torment on Reno's face made something rise up inside of him until his mind was full of a red haze. Placing one heavy, plate-size hand in the centre of Reno's chest to hold him still Veld looked down with hooded eyes.

It wasn't until his boss had ripped off his tie and begun to unbutton his shirt that Reno realized things were so much more wrong than he had imagined. As Veld stripped off his shirt one handedly and then went to work on Reno's, the redhead snapped. Swiping Veld's hand away he attempted to scuttle towards the distant door, but was stopped by both a searing pain in his chest and a vice-like grip on his slender ankle.

Completely enraged by the insubordination Reno was showing Veld snatched his ankle and yanked hard. Grinning evilly as Reno crashed down on his already abused chest the Director quickly crawled over on top of the redhead, now holding him down with the full strength of his own body.

Dispensing with any formalities like keeping clothes intact on removal Veld tore Reno's work pants at the seams and ripped his own down around his ankles. Not bothering with any prep, Veld placed a hand in the small of Reno's back to hold him down and brutally shoved his already straining erection into Reno. The torture of the redhead so far had served to arouse him massively, but the shriek Reno let out upon being entered pushed him over the edge of lust.

Pulling out, almost to the tip of his thick cock, Veld slammed back into Reno's body balls deep. Starting a savagely hard and fast pace, Veld had Reno letting out uncontrolled screams of pain at ever thrust. Feeling himself getting very close, Veld reached under Reno with one calloused hand and began to mercilessly pump his semi-hard cock. Letting out a guttural chuckle at the fact that his rough treatment had Reno unwillingly aroused, Veld made sure that his last few strokes slammed into the other man's prostate. This coupled with the hand on Reno's weeping cock made him come within a few painful seconds.

Once Reno tightened around him Veld ensured that he drove in as deep as possible before letting go and shooting his seed deep inside Reno's shaking body. Pulling out immediately, he began to nonchalantly put his suit back together, making sure he left no evidence on himself of todays little 'session'. Feeling slightly winded after the intensity of his time with Reno, Veld leant casually on the wall by the door and watched with sick pleasure as Reno convulsed on the floor.

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'WHAT!' Tseng's roar echoed through the mostly empty corridors of Level Four and the doctor in front of him cringed in the face of the intimidating Turk's wrath. Tseng had spent a whole hour twiddling his thumbs (or the stoic Wutaiin equivalent) and had now just been informed of the test results put in by the paramedics.

Lowering his voice down to a dangerous growl Tseng stared at the doctor and gritted out, 'Please repeat that doctor, I'm not sure if I heard you right. What did you say has happened to one of my best Turks?'

Trembling so much he was almost vibrating on the spot the doctor held out a quivering sheet of paper. 'He was, well I mean, someone nearly beat him to death Sir. This appears to have happened over the course of at least three hours, and at the hands of a trained soldier. No one else could have caused so much damage to a fully trained Turk Sir.'

Sucking in a deep breath Tseng tried to calm himself down. Knowing that Reno was very seriously injured was bad enough, but adding to this the fact that he was a few inches from death made Tseng want to spill some blood. He had never admitted it to anyone, least of all the cocky redhead himself, but Tseng was repressing feelings for Reno that went deeper than the respect of a superior agent to his subordinate. Tseng didn't even want to think right now about the fact that no one but a Turk could have done this to Reno inside the confines of headquarters.

Swearing sharply in Wutaiin Tseng turned his back on the doctor and stormed back to Reno's room. The redhead had been out cold for more than an hour now, but Tseng planned to be there asking questions as soon as he woke up. Slumping in the uncomfortable chair by the hospital cot Tseng swore again and settled down to wait.

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	2. Chapter 2

It wasn't the steady beeping of machines that woke Reno from the black faint he was in, nor was it the pain that gnawed at every muscle in his lean body. What jerked Reno out of unconsciousness was the undeniable feel of eyes pinning him where he lay. His vivid blue-green eyes immediately flew wide open with panic, and he would have bolted for the door if he felt like he could even move properly.

Tseng had been sitting at Reno's bedside for almost 2 hours before his hawk-like gaze noticed the telltale signs of his Turk returning to consciousness. He narrowed his eyes when Reno came to and raised a thin eyebrow at the abject fear that immediately appeared in the man's eyes. Staying well back from the bed Tseng locked eyes with Reno and quietly said, 'Reno, you're in the hospital. It's Tseng, there's only me here. You're safe from whoever did this.'

On hearing Tseng's familiar voice Reno all but collapsed back onto the bed and let out a shaky breath. He didn't know how he had gotten to the hospital or why he wasn't in the Medical Wing of ShinRa Corp but the fact that Tseng was there and Veld wasn't wiped most other considerations from his mind. Most considerations, but not all. Panic flaring again in his expression Reno rolled over so his back was to his boss. All that was running through his mind now was 'Oh Gaia. Tseng knows. He knows what had to be done because I fucked up so bad.'

Tseng frowned at Reno's prompt withdrawal and leant forward in his seat. 'Reno,' he stated. 'We will find who did this. I need you to tell me what happened so we can bring down this bastard.'

Reno interrupted Tseng's words with a painful chuckle that turned into a barking laugh. 'You want to know what happened yo? Just ask those doctors who brought me in. I'm sure they'll tell you in excruciating detail what went on. Come on in and take a look at the Turk who wouldn't learn his lesson yo? And don't bother trying to get out of me who did this. It's not like it would do any good anyway. Just leave.'

Tseng was totally stunned at the hollow sound of Reno's usually upbeat voice and sensed that there was a shitload going on beneath the surface of the redhead's words. Slowly getting up out of his chair Tseng walked to the door before stopping and looking back at Reno. 'I'm going to talk to the doctors Reno, but you're on supervision until I say otherwise. I will be back soon and I won't be leaving.'

Reno ostensibly ignored Tseng as he left the room and closed the door, but as soon as the latch clicked he sat up slowly. The thought of his co-workers knowing the extent of his screw up and the details of the resulting punishments tipped his fragile psyche over the edge and all he could think about was escape. Given a choice Reno would have spent a day or two in the hospital with a Cure Materia or two and given a flamboyant excuse to cover his injuries and absence, but this time there was no hiding what happened from either Tseng or his associates.

Ignoring the stabbing pains from his many injuries Reno hobbled from his bed to the door to flip the lock and then glanced around the room. Broken as he never had been even in his years on the streets of the slums, Reno searched the room for anything he could use to end it. Swearing softly he decided that the hospital room was empty of anything sufficiently deadly until his steadily more agitated gaze lit on the large window facing over the carpark.

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Tseng cornered a doctor in one of the interminable off-white corridors, five minutes stalk from Reno's room. Towering a full foot above the physician the Wutaiin Turk quietly informed the doctor of what he would be told in the next few seconds. 'There are things about Reno's condition you haven't told me Doctor and you will relate everything to me. I won't bother making threats as I judge being alone with me in a quiet corner of the hospital threat enough. Tell me what you haven't told me. Now.'

Eyes wide with fear and physically quivering in the face of the Turk's quiet menace, the doctor opened his mouth and just about gabbled the details. 'He, he wasn't just beaten sir, that would have been b-bad enough given the severity of the injuries. The young m-man was brutally r-r-raped by w-whoever beat him, he was almost torn apart by the violence...'

The doctor trailed off into choked silence at the look of raw fury building in Tseng's face. Gesturing sharply for the doctor to go Tseng stood motionless for a full twenty seconds before wheeling around and setting out for Reno's room again. Muttering an fluent string of vituperative Wutaiin swears under his breath Tseng vowed that he would get the identity of Reno's attacker somehow.

Arriving back at Reno's room in less than two minutes due to his determined gait, Tseng went to open the door quietly and reenter the room. Locked. Not good, not fucking good at all. Without missing a beat Tseng drew back and delivered a thundering kick into the door slamming it back against the wall. Luckily Tseng was not the sort to freeze when encountering something terrifying as when he dashed into the room he was confronted with Reno framed in the jagged glass of the broken window.

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Reno hadn't realized just how much his strength had been sapped by the brutal beating and the subsequent few hours of accelerated healing in the hospital so it took him almost five whole minutes to even drag a chair across the room. He reached into reserves he didn't know he had and used his good hand to hurl the steel chair straight through the middle of the glass. As the fragments of the window rained down, Reno felt overwhelmed with a very strange sense of modesty and struggled into a clean pair of jeans Tseng must have brought in under the hospital robe. If he was going to die, he was damned if he was going to do it with a bare ass.

Once he yanked the pants over his bare hips Reno staggered over to stand in the window frame staring down at the floodlit concrete below. With the very last of his strength he hauled himself onto the bottom windowsill and balanced there for a long second. Startled by the crash of the door behind him, Reno swiveled on the thin strip of windowsill with the balance of a cat and met Tseng's horrified eyes. Gracing his boss with an affectionate ghost of a smile Reno mouthed, 'I'm sorry.' and let himself arch backwards into space.

The one thing Reno had not counted on though in his fractured mental state was the almost supernatural quickness that Tseng was able to move with. Without seeming to pass through the intervening space the Turk raced from the door to the window and threw himself out into space reaching desperately for Reno. By merciful chance one strong hand snagged Reno's unbroken wrist and clamped down implacably while simultaneously he latched his other hand onto the lip outside the window holding onto both for dear life.

When he felt Tseng's fingers close around his wrist Reno let out an involuntary scream of anger mixed with pain and sorrow. The force he let out the sound with, on top of the exertion it had taken to get him out of the window in the first place taxed Reno beyond the limits of his strength and he passed out of consciousness again. The last thing he saw as he fell into darkness was the agonized gaze of a pair of beautiful brown eyes looking down at him.

Trying to suppress a horrified shudder at how close the call had been Tseng set about the arduous task of hauling both himself and the dead weight of Reno back over the sill. Once he had them both inside he collapsed with his back to the wall, Reno cradled in his lap. Succumbing to an overwhelming impulse that he would have restrained if he wasn't so distressed and weary, Tseng let his hand slide down Reno's cheek and cup the man's chin with a featherlight touch.

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This time when Reno awoke he was in almost complete darkness, and in total silence. The small amount of light that glimmered in the room came from a small reading light in the corner, illuminating a thick book in the hands of a shadowy figure seated there. Reno shrank back into the pillows on his bed a scream choking off his breath. He recognized the scarred and gnarled hands holding the book, sitting in the corner of the room was Veld.

A lot happened in a very short period of time. Reno scrabbled backwards off his bed falling to the ground, and in almost the same instant Veld had lunged across the room and hurdled the bed to land right on top of Reno pinning him to the ground. As Reno lay there frozen with terror Veld grinned a sadistic grin and whispered in his ear, 'Hello Turk.'

Veld placed a huge hand over Reno's windpipe and pressed down just enough to make the redhead gag and gasp for breath. 'I know what will happen now Reno, and I know what you will do if you want to keep breathing. You will keep that pretty mouth of yours shut tight about what happened in the basement or what happened there will seem like a romantic foreplay compared to what I will do. In fact rest assured that before I'm done with you Reno you will be screaming for death. So, no talking okay my little Turk?'

With a last heartless smirk Veld slapped Reno hard across the face knocking his head back onto the hard linoleum floor. Pushing himself to his feet and straightening his slightly rumpled suit Veld strode out of the hospital room without a backwards glance. On the floor Reno lay, frozen in the position Veld left him. The situation he was in had knocked all of his customary carefree nature and cockiness out of him leaving only fear. Losing all semblance of control Reno curled into a ball and tried to choke back wracking sobs.

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After he had muscled Reno's body back onto his bed Tseng had collapsed to the floor trying to stop shaking. He could not believe how close Reno had come to losing his life, not once but twice in such a short time. On the brief occasion he cared to admit it (if only in the privacy of his own head) Tseng felt more for his best Turk than a boss should feel for his employees and he was more shaken by what had happened than he had been by even some of the most horrific missions he had been sent on.

When he had managed to calm his breathing and regain his iron self control, Tseng struggled to his feet and gazed down at Reno's still form. Narrowing his eyes Tseng turned reluctantly away from the bed a plan starting to take shape in his mind. Stepping outside and quietly closing the door, Tseng called for a doctor to organize getting Reno into a new room. Preferably one without windows. As soon as he was satisfied that things were happening Tseng stalked out of the hospital to put his putative plan into motion.

Tseng kept his face completely impassive as the man in front of him tapped his chin thoughtfully. If there was any other way of keeping Reno safe until he knew what was going on, any one else he could turn to, Tseng would have done so, but he was out of options. Not even letting his breathing give away the anxiety that was gnawing at him, the Wutaiin Turk stood to attention in front of the desk of Rufus Shinra.

Rufus hid a smile as he watched Tseng from under lowered lashes. The man was so controlled, so restrained, but still the vice-president of ShinRa could see his agitation. Drawing the moment out for as long as possible Rufus finally spoke, 'So let me get this straight Tseng. You want Reno withdrawn from active duty for the foreseeable future, him to be placed in a safe house, and to top it all off you want dispensation to be his full-time guard? Tell me one thing Turk, what possible reason could I have for granting this, and under the very nose of my venerable father no less.'

Unconsciously biting his lip Tseng forced himself to meet Rufus' eyes. He knew there was no way he would just get things given to him but it still didn't mean he wanted to bare his soul to the twisted son of Shinra. 'Sir, Reno was beaten almost to death within the walls of ShinRa. It was a brutal assault administered by a trained soldier and the only conclusion I can come to is that it was a Turk that did this. And sir, there is something of the situation you won't be aware of...'

Rufus's eyes lit up at this admission and he lent forward to lean his elbows on his desk. 'So Tseng, tell me what is it you haven't told me.' He murmured with a small smile touching his lips, unwittingly echoing Tseng's words from earlier. He did in fact know most of the details of Reno's condition and was interested to see what Tseng would say next.

Dropping the formalities and most of his mask Tseng took the risk he had been building up to since the beginning of the meeting. 'Rufus, Reno tried to kill himself just an hour ago. I left his room for five minutes and he broke a window and jumped. Whatever is going on here isn't just Reno mouthing off and getting punished...' He trailed off seeing the look of complete incredulity on the vice-president's face. 'Sir?'

Trying to pull himself together, Rufus closed his gaping mouth and fixed Tseng with a penetrating look. As vice-president of the company he had read the psych profiles on every one of his Turks and Reno's had indicated an almost overabundance of optimism and jaunty good-humor. Of all the things he had expected Tseng to reveal, suicidal tendencies in _Reno _was not even on the list. 'Alright Tseng you have my attention.' He muttered. 'Now what else is it that you are trying to pretend I can't tell that you are hiding?'

Cursing in the privacy of his head Tseng dropped his eyes. 'Well Sir, the.. Ah Gaia, the assault wasn't just physical. Whoever beat him half to death... They raped him. Brutally. And Reno won't say who did it. I can't even go after the bastard that did this...'

Realizing just how much he had said and inadvertently revealed with those few words Tseng shut his mouth with a snap. Waiting for Rufus to pounce on the inference that he cared this much about Reno Tseng let the silence stretch into minutes before daring to meet the man's eyes again. What he saw was something he really _really_ had not expected. Compassion.

'Tseng... You might think I'm a heartless bastard and well, my father's son, but I can see that this is affecting you. My father may just see the Turks as his own little dispensable toys, but believe it or not I would prefer to keep you all alive and as happy as possible. Take the house near the edge of the Plate, you know the one, and keep that damn Reno alive. I wouldn't like to think how boring it would be around here without his particular brand of input. You can rest assured that I will be starting an investigation, covert of course, into just what happened and just who made it happen. You will be kept informed on everything.'

Ignoring Tseng's unguarded look of shock Rufus sat back in his chair and waved a languid hand. 'Now if that is all, I think you should go and make sure the house is prepared for a long stay. Don't let me keep you.' And with that he turned his chair to face the panoramic window behind him, hiding a smile as Tseng set off, his step much lighter than when he came in.

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For the third time in as many days Reno awoke to completely unfamiliar surroundings. This time though he forced himself to relax into the soft bed he was lying on and take stock. The room was definitely not in a hospital for a start, the sheets were not the generic puke green for one. And the room seemed full of, well, stuff for lack of a better term. There were three bookshelves chock full of thick books, and under the window there was a desk with a comfy chair. Hang on, window?

Sitting up slowly to make sure he didn't open the stitches he sure as hell could feel Reno winced as the memories of the night before crept back into his brain. Furrowing his brow Reno thought back to the end of the memories involving the window, now that couldn't be right. He seemed to be able to remember Tseng staring down on his dangling body with an expression as tortured as it was full of love.

Sneering to himself Reno gave himself a mental slap. 'Get a grip dumbass, there is no way in the seven circles of hell that could happen. Gaia, I must have been high on painkillers and near death, I just ain't the sort of person people look at like that.'

Flopping back onto the bed Reno somehow managed to forget that the day before he had been almost beaten to death. As he hit the bed his ribs ground together and a resounding scream echoed around the house. Almost before the scream had stopped, the door flew open and standing there with his gun at the ready was Tseng. When he scanned the room and found Reno alone, he leant back on the doorframe and clutched his chest.

'For Gaia's sake Reno are you trying to kill me?' He muttered. 'I knew I should have kept you safe in the basement for the first few days.' As he regained his breath Tseng noticed that he seemed to be holding a monologue and that even though Reno was curled into a ball clutching his ribs, he let out a choked sob at the word 'basement'.

Tseng swiftly strode over to the bed and sunk to his knees on the carpet. Tilting his head he looked up into Reno's face, cringing slightly at the torment apparent in the man's fine features. Pushing him gently onto his back Tseng lifted the sweat-soaked t-shirt that hung from Reno's frame to see if he could ease the pain obviously radiating from the redhead's ribs.

Stoic and controlled though he was Tseng couldn't help letting out an angry hiss at the sight of Reno's abused body. There was not one part of his torso that was Reno's normal pale skin-tone, instead his entire chest and ribs were a single mottled black and blue bruise. Biting his lip hard so he didn't curse at this evidence of horrific violence Tseng reached for small container of Cure brand ointment and began to gently apply it to the places where the doctors had said the ribs were broken.

Resolutely refusing to look at Tseng Reno bit back a groan at the dull ache that preceded the Cure working. As soon as his boss took his hand away Reno rolled over and gingerly hunched himself into a tight ball. He held his breath until he heard the door close and then let it out in a shuddering sob that turned into burning tears. Reno hadn't let a tear fall since his years in the slums, but now he couldn't stop the quiet keening that escaped from his throat. It was many long hours before Reno cried himself into an exhausted sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three.

In the hallway outside of Reno's room Tseng hunched over wrapping his arms around his body trying in vain to hold himself together. He could hear Reno's pain through the wall and every sound of agony cut him deep. Sinking to the ground he pulled his knees to his chest and stared at the opposite wall, in a way standing guard until Reno's crying subsided into silent sleep.

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Screams filled the air, interspersed with ear-shattering explosions. On every exposed piece of dusty ground lay the scattered bodies of the Wutaiin peasants who until recently had occupied the village. Crouched behind a crumbling wall were the group of surviving villagers and a Turk. The Turk, Rude, was searching hurriedly through his pockets to see if he could find any more of his concussion grenades.

Finally finding what he was searching for, Rude yanked the pin on the device and peering briefly over the disintegrating wall lobbed it as hard as he could towards the armored transport containing the largest amount of enemies. Behind his dark shades Rude's eyes widened as he realized that the blast might knock the wall over, either destroying the people behind it or leaving them completely open to attack. Ignoring the stinging of numerous wounds Rude bodily picked up two of the weaker villagers and dragged the others as far and fast as he could away from the wall.

Not a moment too soon. The group hadn't made it 20 meters from their shelter when the grenade detonated, sending them flying. The only person who saw the awesome sight was Rude who happened to have turned around to grab the hand of a fallen peasant. The armored vehicle burst apart at the seams and red hot chunks of metal were flung through the air. In the conflagration that was all that remained of the inside of the transport, Rude could see featureless faces screaming in agony before they melted into the flames. Realizing he had taken far too long to start running again Rude spun on his heel and dashed after his group of survivors, trying for the safety of the forest.

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Silent figures moved like a tide through the trees, probing the thick undergrowth with razor-edged spears. The forest fringe was soundless except for the odd crack of twig underfoot and the pounding thuds as the spears slammed into the earth. Behind the skirmish-line rode three figures on chocobo-back, ignoring the orders of silence in favor of an animated conversation. The largest figure, whose chocobo was staggering under his weight, was the Wutaiin warlord Shuang Gou self-styled lord of the lands from the Court of the Sea to the Da Chou mountain.

Even though he himself had sent the order for silence Shuang Gou chattered away to his two advisors blithely ignoring that the rest of his men were trying to listen intently for any sign of the escapees. The attendant called Iwao was uttering monosyllables in a hushed voice obviously unwilling to stop speaking before the warlord was finished, but also unwilling to jeopardize the search. On the the left of the warlord the thin wispy man named Itachi watched the proceedings through veiled scornful eyes.

'That mean man is spoiling my beautiful new Kingdom,' whined Shuang Gou in a surprisingly effeminate voice. 'Iwao what are we going to do to stop this uprising among the people who should be vying to kiss my feet? Itachi where did that damn man come from?'

Stepping soundlessly forward to his commander's side Itachi let a small smile flicker across his thin rodent-like features. 'Warlord, the man who has been wreaking havoc seems to have sprung from nowhere a mere three days ago. The only name I could find for him is something I suspect is a codename - Pyoveli. We have as yet been unable to derive meaning from this name but our communications agents are working on the assumption this is cypher for something else. They should have results for you soon my Warlord. The others, the peasants-'

Shuang Gou broke in arrogantly talking over his subordinate, 'I don't care about the peasants Itachi, all I want to know is who the hell is stirring trouble somewhere there was no fucking trouble before!'

Itachi cringed back as Shuang Gou's voice rose into a wavering shout. He could see the soldiers turning their heads at the sudden noise, but he in no way dared to shush the Warlord. The weaselly man sent a silent prayer up to the gods as Iwao placed a hand on the neck of the Warlord's chocobo bringing them all to a halt and distracting Shuang Gou from his tirade.

'My Lord,' Rumbled the massive man. 'The soldiers have found a trail.' for Iwao this amounted to a full blown speech and thus gave both his companions a moments pause.

After gaping briefly at his taciturn attendant Shuang Gou broke into a hearty laugh and urged his chocobo into a stumbling run. 'The hunt is on my men,' He called back to them. 'We shall run this dog into the ground.'

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Even though the trees and tangled undergrowth gave him and the remaining villagers more cover Rude dared not relax for an instant, urging everyone deeper into the jungle in hopes of finding a refuge. Or failing that a defensible place to take out as many of the enemy before giving in to death. Multitasking as a good Turk should Rude ripped chunks of jagged metal out of his torso as he ran, trying to keep up with the Cure potion in his other hand.

Busy as he was herding the peasants and being his own surgeon Rude almost missed the deep fissure in the rock face he was currently skirting. With a minimum of whispers and many hand signals Rude waved his group into the thin crack recognizing the telltale signs of the opening to a cave system. Once everyone was in the entrance to the cave the bald Turk paused a second to listen for their pursuers. A second too long it turned out as an unseen enemy let out a yell of discovery before Rude could turn and vanish into the cave too.

Knowing that it was only a matter of minutes before the cave entrance was swarming with heavily armed soldiers Rude dashed to the weary group he had got this far and motioned for them to split up. This was the only way he told himself, for if one group was caught, the others would be far enough away to escape. Cursing the misinformation that turned a supposedly easy assassination into a race for survival Rude set out after his charges into the black depths of the earth.

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While Rude was facing the dark caves of Glasswood, his co-agent Elena was dealing with a very different kind of darkness, one that breeds in the slums and underworlds of the inner cities. Sitting bolt upright in the grotty vinyl chair that served as a waiting area the blonde pursed her lips at the wait. When a flustered receptionist flapped at her to go in Elena rose gracefully to her feet and swept haughtily into the inner sanctum of one of the most powerful crime-lords under the Plate.

As she stalked arrogantly through the chipped and peeling door Elena swore rancorously in her head. She had been doing that almost constantly for three weeks, ever since Veld had dropped her neck deep in the criminal underworld under the pretext of infiltrating a major drug ring. Elena knew that she was not properly experienced in business below the plate and she wondered what had been going through Veld's head when he gave her this assignment. All she could do however was draw on everything Reno had ever told her about the slums and do her best to keep her limbs attached to her body.

The blonde woman glared down her nose at the obese slug sitting in front of her, doing her best to portray distain rather than disgust and completely disdaining to notice the two heavily muscled wall fixtures on either side of the man. She inclined her head slightly when he waved her to sit down, perching on the edge of the chair. She injected pure ice into her tone for the opening sally, 'I do not intend to be long Mr Jinn, this should be brief.' In her head she started counting down from 5.

Mr Jinn, the richest underworld figure in Midgar smiled lugubriously at the pretty, slim blonde sitting in front of him and slapped a large brown envelope onto the desk before him. Becoming slightly uneasy as the woman just stared at him Mr Jinn stuttered, 'Here is the first installment of your order Akunin, but as you know we will need the money before the remainder is forthcoming.'

Elena's mental countdown hit zero just as Mr Jinn broke the silence and she sneered subtly. She was expecting this lame attempt at a double cross and was almost disappointed at how blatant the man was in his machinations. Unfolding her arms Elena directed a poisonous glare at Mr Jinn and stood abruptly, turning to leave the room. 'I don't believe this was the agreement,' She hissed. 'And if you think I have the money on me, you are sadly mistaken.'

Then out of the corner of her eye Elena saw something that sent a chill down her spine. Mr Jinn was not looking frightened anymore, he was smirking. Elena halted mid-step as his newly sharp tone reached her ears. 'Miss, you will turn around and sit down. I am not finished with you yet.'

Turning robotically Elena tried to hold her head high and perched again on the edge of the chair. She met his eyes impassively, waiting for his next utterance. She didn't have to wait long. Drawing out the moment Mr Jinn finally spoke again. 'What made you think that you could come here without backup, Miss Elena Turk? I am curious at your boldness.'

As her real name left his lips Elena knew she had been betrayed and that unless she thought quickly she would not be leaving the room alive. Forcing terror into her eyes she stuttered convincingly, 'I work for the Turks but I'm not one yet. Do you think a real Turk would be stupid enough to come in here without a partner? If you let me go I can lead you to my operator, I don't owe them anything...'

Elena was cut off mid-sentence as a blur of motion came from beside her, slamming a large calloused hand into her jaw. She was spun off the chair onto the floor and sprawled onto her stomach, fighting to not black out. The blonde woman felt the cold hand of fear clench in her gut and knew in that instant that she was going to die. Squeezing her eyes shut she waited for the shot that would finish her.

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Rude watched momentarily as four peasants scurried down a tiny shaft to the left of the entrance of the caves. Shepherding the remaining six, still supporting the two weakest children Rude started as quickly as possible down the centre tunnel. Hoping to Gaia for an offshoot the Turk hustled everyone through the dank and shadowy tunnels as fast as they could move.

Unknown to Rude and his group though, the soldiers were not the only ones to try and follow his movements through the caves. Hidden in a tiny nook at least fifty feet above the ground a slim figure silently pressed the gently glowing Sense Materia into her forearm, using her other arm to shield the yellow iridescence that resulted. Quick purple eyes darted over what seemed to be thin air, but was actually scale placements of everyone now within the cave systems viewable only to the materia holder. With a small sniff the figure quenched the materia light and seemed to fly down the tunnel after Rude.

As Rude and his group wound deeper into the caverns he could feel the tingle on the back of his neck that told him he was being watched. Gritting his teeth as he hauled a silently crying child to his feet for the fiftieth time he tried to work out who could be shadowing him and the people he was trying to protect. One thing he was sure of was that it wasn't one of Shuang Gou's soldiers as they would have been slaughtered the moment they were sighted. Under the pretext of checking on some of the straggling peasants Rude snapped his head around and was rewarded with a glimpse of pale skin and a trailing sash.

As Rude was trying to place the strange vision that flickered across his view, something even more unexpected happened. Out of thin air a form dropped down to stand in front of the stunned Turk and his small group of unfortunates. Standing in front of Rude with a hip cocked and one eyebrow raised stood a slim woman holding a massive four pointed throwing star nonchalantly at her side. Without a word the woman beckoned the party off the main tunnel and through a miniscule crack into an unanticipated cave beyond.

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A/N: Names in Chapter Three: Shuang Gou - Twin Hooked Swords (named after his choice of weapon), Iwao - Stone Man (literal translation), Itachi - Weasel. I know I'm using both Japanese and Chinese... So sue me :P


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I thought I would note here that I've tried to close up some timeline issues I noticed. I didn't realize how wack the storyline actually was, so hopefully this is better now. Chapter Five will be coming as soon as I get it written, thanks for reading :)**

One deafening shot rang out followed quickly by another. Sprawled on the floor Elena let her eyes slide shut for the first shot, but they flew open again at the sound of the second. Totally nonplussed she raised her eyes to see the still body of one of the hired thugs slumped over the desk while the other guard had hit the wall and slid into a sitting position. Before she could even begin to marshal her thoughts a rough hand grabbed the back of her top and jerked her brusquely to her feet causing her gaze to fall upon Mr Jinn still sitting in his chair but now with two small but wicked shuriken buried in his throat.

As Elena tried to maintain her footing, she found herself staring into a disconcerting pair of dark red eyes. The pallid face currently evaluating her was framed with long jet-black hair held back by a crimson sash and his lanky body was shrouded in a tattered cape. This was all Elena could take in at one time however and her legs started to shake violently from the shock of her sudden rescue. A voice from the other side of the room rang out drawing the blonde's attention, 'Vincent, get her a chair. She doesn't know you from a bar of soap and is probably petrified that you will go for her throat. I still don't know why you won't just wear the damn uniform.'

Still dazedly trying to comprehend what the hell was going on Elena snapped her head around at the female voice. Leaning against the wall languidly and absentmindedly polishing a large red-accented shuriken was a petite, auburn-haired woman with strange brown eyes. Elena prided herself in her ability to read someone simply by looking into their eyes, but with this woman it was almost like there was no one looking back. A shiver ran up Elena's spine for she had never before come across someone so utterly shuttered off behind their eyes.

Feeling a nudge at the back of her knees Elena fell backwards with a squeak before realizing that the man named Vincent had pushed a chair up behind her. Letting out a long steadying breath the usually unflappable blonde attempted to marshall her thoughts and start thinking coherently again. A deep frown spread across her face however as the unassailable facts of what had just happened finally registered for her.

A growl emerged from her throat and Elena snarled aloud, 'How in the name of ever-loving FUCK did that stupid bastard know I was with the Turks? This was meant to be a deep goddamn cover mission and he knew exactly what and who I was... WHAT THE FUCK!' Panting hoarsely Elena stared wildly at the impassive agents who looked up briefly from from the bodies they were arranging before going back to their work. Struggling with the crazy thoughts now whirling through her mind Elena slumped in her chair and tried manfully not to pass out.

The two new Turks managed to clean up and arrange the bodies in Mr Jinn's rundown lair in less than thirty minutes and as Elena was finally regaining control of herself Vincent and the as yet unnamed woman hustled her out into the discreet black car waiting across the road. Bundling her into the back with a minimum of fuss the two unfamiliar agents set straight off for ShinRa-Corp but for some reason once they were close they veered away from the front entrance of the huge building complex and cut down the right side towards the executive blocks.

Finally regaining some semblance of composure Elena shrugged off Vincent's helping hand to get out of the vehicle and smoothly slid out of the door. Holding herself dead straight and keeping any expression off of her face Elena took a deep breath before walking through the side door of the most lavish of the ShinRa-Corp properties, she had finally figured out where she was going and was not looking forward to the forthcoming meeting one bit.

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The small group of bedraggled fugitives staggered into the huge cave after the strange girl and collapsed onto the many boulders that littered the floor. Their mysterious good Samaritan slid a glowing green materia into her forearm and spread her fingers wide holding up a handful of flickering flames. The fire cast light over a tiny portion of the cave, but even that small illumination caused every member of the group to gasp in unabashed wonder.

The massive cave they now occupied shimmered in the firelight like the inside of a diamond. The escapees were surrounded with glittering ice-like planes and subtle rainbows danced at the edge of sight. The cavern that currently served as their refuge caught everybody spellbound and even the jaded and cynical Rude was struck momentarily speechless at the otherworldly beauty he stood surrounded by.

Being the first to pull himself together Rude leant towards the girl and caught her eye. Making sure he was holding her unusual violet gaze the Turk spoke for the first time since entering the caves. 'We are grateful and all for you leading us away from those bastards, but who the hell are you and what is your stake in this war?'

The group of peasants listening to Rude's opening question huddled together nervously at the combative tone of his words. Anticipating either being left to rot in the tunnels or an offended stab with the giant shuriken the girl held nonchalantly the quivering people were stunned when the girl let out a lilting laugh. With a fleeting grin she winked at Rude and laid down her weapon to spread her hands wide. 'Spoken like a true Turk, Rude of ShinRa. And now that we have a little time I 'll enlighten you. I am the great ninja Yuffie, princess of Wutai, and I was sent by a mutual friend to make sure you didn't end up fertilizing my forest. You are a lot more use to everyone concerned while you are still breathing.'

Behind his ever-present sunglasses (yes, even in the caves) Rude's deep brown eyes widened. The fact that sitting before him was the princess of Wutai was not nearly as shocking as the fact that they had a 'friend' in common who placed a high price on his safety. Taking a moment to assimilate the facts before him Rude let out a long breath; he sent a reassuring smile towards his tagalongs and turned his attention back to the waiting Yuffie. 'I almost don't know where to start,' he admitted. 'But I think first priority should be getting all of us somewhere safe. Once we're out of here I can worry about the why of things. So, I assume you brought us to this cave with a plan in mind?'

Giggling again, this time at the Turk's self-control Yuffie folded her arms confidently. 'Sir, I am THE great ninja, of course I have an escape route. In fact from this room I have five different ways to reach the forest, none of which will take us near the bumbling idiots chasing you. In a mere few hours we will be safe at Shadowtree and the soldiers will be nothing but echoes in the caves.'

Rude followed the flamboyant gesture that Yuffie made towards the wall directly above them and suppressed a grin as the flames still in her hand caused a tiny gap to glitter strangely. Getting up and pulling himself up to the opening he felt a faint breeze caress his face and saw a glint of evening sunlight on the crystal walls of the aperture. Beckoning to the decidedly more cheerful group under his protection Rude let Yuffie lead the way and began boosting people into the secret passage. Waiting until the last child was in the tunnel Rude crawled in himself and barely managed to quash a yell when Yuffie triggered a Destruct Materia that brought half the roof of the sparkling cave crashing down just beyond his feet.

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Sitting at the small table in the kitchen of the safe-house Tseng stared blankly into space. It had been a three days since he got permission from Rufus to take Reno out of the Turk environment and the redhead had refused to leave his room even to eat. For Tseng, seeing the usually upbeat Reno so bleak was seriously fucking with his head and coming to a decision he pushed back from the table and strode towards the stairs. Today he would snap Reno out of this at least enough to leave his room; the current state of affairs could not continue.

The still body on the bed flinched almost convulsively as Tseng pushed the door open and Reno cringed away as close to the wall as he could as the second in command of the Turk's sat on the edge of the bed. Tseng's expressionless face showed none of the pain he felt at seeing Reno so broken and he sat quietly trying to compose a coherent sentence in his head. A change in the air made the Turk raise his head and he locked eyes with Reno who was now staring at him.

In a voice hoarse from nighttime screaming and otherwise lack of use Reno whispered, 'Yo, I think I'd like some dinner Tseng. Hey and do ya think I could get these damn stitches out?' As his words hung in the air a ghost of his old grin drifted across Reno's face. 'And close your mouth yo, you're catching flies.'

Stunned at the sudden turnaround Tseng shut his mouth with an audible snap. Carefully, like he was handling delicate crystal, he helped Reno up from the bed and supported him so he could stand. Catlike reflexes coming into play three times between the bedroom and the upstairs bathroom Tseng caught Reno every time the redhead swayed or staggered. Once he had Reno safely seated on the edge of the bath he removed the light silk nightshirt in preparation of taking out the numerous stitches.

Even though the Cure had done it's job well Reno was still covered in horrific blotchy yellow and greenish-blue bruises. Meandering down his chest from just below his collarbone to the bottom of his sternum was a series of thirty rough stitches and another patch of eight stitches where the skin had split over his broken ribs. Tseng ran his gaze over the other line of twelve stitches that had assisted in holding Reno's forehead closed and swallowed the growl building in his throat. Even as a veteran Turk he seldom saw such brutalization outside of an interrogation room.

Taking a pair of silver scissors from the sink Tseng turned to Reno and halted in a rare moment of hesitation. He could field-medic with the best of them and had performed minor surgery on his Turks in far worse situations, but right now he couldn't think of anything worse than steadying his hand and snipping the knotted black synthetic sutures from Reno's skin. Lifting his hand he paused again at Reno's forehead and lost in his thoughts nearly leapt out of his skin when Reno's hand slid slowly over his own, holding it steady.

Both men froze and almost without either of them making it happen blue-green eyes met chocolate brown. In that moment Tseng had no time to raise his habitual barriers and so Reno was hit with the full force of his boss's pain and something else that he could not believe. Recognizing the raw and almost desperate love stirring in Tseng's eyes Reno tore himself away from Tseng's hands and shoved himself backwards. Unfortunately behind him was the empty space of the bath and with a gasp Reno fell flat on his back into the tub. Scrabbling to sit up Reno kicked himself backwards until he was hunched against the taps.

The moment his patient started and pushed him away Tseng was already cursing himself. He never lost control and he never ever let down his internal barriers, yet here he was with naked longing in his gaze and emotion causing his normally steady hands to shake. Gritting his teeth Tseng swore not to let his feelings overwhelm his good sense and he also promised himself that he would keep his hands off of Reno and not mess up the man more than he already was. He shook his head, it wasn't like Reno the womanizer would ever go there even given better circumstances.

Tseng was pulled from his internal recriminations at a raspy whisper from the bathtub and turned to see Reno steadfastly refusing to meet his eyes and using the lip of the bath to pull himself to his knees. 'Ya know that I still want those stitches out right Tseng? It's not brain surgery yo.'

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It was only sheer bloody-mindedness that was keeping Elena on her feet in the plush office of Rufus Shinra. She been hustled up there through the back hallways by the strange pair who had blown away Mr Jinn and his cohorts and as far as she could ascertain, not one ShinRa employee knew that the three of them were out of the slums let alone in the building. Elena could feel the son of Shina's eyes on her and forced her gaze not to waver from the highly polished desktop in front of her.

Rufus stared at the blonde Turk standing stoically in front of him. Completely absent from his expression was relief over Vincent and Cissnei his new Turks getting to Elena in time. He would have sent someone sooner to extract her from her cover, but he had needed to take the time to sound out the new recruits and gauge their loyalty or lack thereof to Veld. Rufus had long suspected that the commander of the Turks (and his father's longtime friend) had been abusing his position, but until the situation with Reno he had been unaware of the depth of Veld's insanity.

Letting out a sigh that nearly caused Elena to swallow her tongue Rufus gestured to Cissnei to get Elena a chair. As the blonde sank gratefully into the seat the son of Shinra picked up some papers from his desk and shuffled them into order before speaking quietly. 'I can see in your eyes Elena that you are making connections about what is happening here at ShinRa, and what you are about to hear should fill in the rest of the blanks. Just listen for the time being and I'll answer the questions that I can afterward.'

'I will start by saying unequivocally that I believe our Director Veld to be insane. And that because of his high standing amongst my father's friends he is currently almost untouchable. I also believe that it is Veld who is responsible for both your blown cover in the slums and the lack of communication I have had from Rude in Wutai. You would have heard through your undercover communications that Rude was recently sent to the warzone in Wutai but I can tell you the reason behind it.'

By this point Elena was staring at Rufus with her mouth open and a look of penetrating intensity on her face. 'Just before you and Rude were sent on your missions there was an incident with Reno. He was beaten so badly that he nearly died here on ShinRa Corp property. He is recovering slowly and is on supervised leave at an undisclosed location while I conduct the investigation into this. You understand Elena that I know it was Veld who did this but I need to move carefully before I can take down a man who is hidden so deep in the pockets of my father.'

Stunned almost to the point of catatonia Elena just sat and stared through her boss. When Mr Jinn had revealed that he knew she was a Turk Elena knew for sure there was a leak in ShinRa, but she had in no way guessed that the one responsible for her brush with death was none other than Veld her commander. It was almost too much for her to take in that Rude could be in danger too and that Reno, incorrigible and irrepressible Reno, had nearly died.

Under her breath but clearly audible to all in the room Elena growled, 'I never would have dreamed... I knew that sick fuck got too much pleasure out of punishing infractions...' And finally picking up on something niggling at her she snapped her icy gaze to Vincent and Cissnei. 'You! You were hired to replace Rude and I once we were disposed of! What the hell... Did he start training you as soon as I was in the slums?'

In a rare moment of compassion Rufus moved from behind his desk and laid a steadying hand on the female Turk's shoulder. Giving her a moment to get to grips with the overwhelming sense of betrayal he began again to speak. 'Veld does not consult me on new recruits, but I was watching the company records and saw four new names on the payroll only a day after you were dispatched. Veld must have been already been planning on taking out at least you and Reno.'

Letting his hand fall from Elena's shoulder Rufus strode to the window and stared out over the darkening silhouette of ShinRa Corp. 'Veld hired the new Turks to try and cement his power base, but he couldn't repress his need for inflicting pain and humiliation. Vincent and Cissnei were punished severely for minor infractions and actually came to me to see if I could temper his disciplining methods. Needless to say I have failed badly at that and so instead I offered an alternative. They could stay as Turks under Veld, but secretly work with me to bring him down. Their first task against Veld's orders was to retrieve you and I'm pleased to say that they have proved themselves admirably.'

Turning back to the three silent Turks Rufus let a tiny vicious smile play around the corners of his mouth. 'Now then, I think we should get down to the real business. It won't be easy to take down Veld, but time is wasting, don't you agree?'


	5. Chapter 5

Tseng sat across the small table from Reno, an uncomfortable silence filling the air. Still cursing himself for letting his guard down earlier Tseng could hardly look at Reno in case he saw disgust or worse, pity. For his part Reno was so lost in his own dark thoughts that he wouldn't have noticed if Tseng had put on bunny ears and started hopping around the room. Though his eyes were insisting that he did see what he thought he saw in Tseng's eyes, Evil Reno in his head was having a ball reciting every reason why it just wasn't so. Chewing but not tasting his dinner Reno could do nothing against the litany of disparagement that echoed in his head.

'Heya Reno, yo little slumrat! You know that I call you this because no matter how hard you try you will never be anything else. I mean come on yo, Veld obviously saw how worthless and pathetic you are and acted accordingly so clearly it's only a matter of time before everyone else who knows you sees just what you are.'

'Honestly Ren-Ren,' Evil Reno purred using Reno's nickname from the slums. 'Look at Tseng just sitting there so perfect. What is there about you that someone like him could ever love? I think your wishful thinking made you see something that could never be there. What you saw, my flame-headed fuckwit, was really just Tseng's torture at having to be responsible for your sorry self. Can't you tell how he just doesn't want to be near you? Why won't you just give up and concede that you are valueless and inferior in every way?'

Choking on his pasta Reno set down his fork and stared at the table blankly. It was bad enough to have in his head all the memories stored there, but to be ripped to shreds by essentially himself was nigh on unbearable. At the muffled cough Tseng bit his tongue and frantically cast around for something to break the tension. He wracked his brains and finally remembered something that Rufus had told him in a coded phone call two days ago.

'I have some news from ShinRa.' He stated abruptly in hopes of breaking through to Reno. 'We have been rather short-staffed recently, so the Turks have been recruiting. We now have four new agents fresh from training to cover any missions that...'

Tseng broke off suddenly as he caught the look that crept over Reno's face. The usually smiling Turk had an expression of pure horror written across his fine features and had gone a sickly grey. Stuttering so badly that he could barely get the words out Reno growled, 'G-g-goddamnit it Tseng, when did this h-happen yo? How long have the new Turks been with Sh-shinRa?'

Reno knew, even if Tseng didn't, that as soon as the new Turks were through the doors of ShinRa Corp they would be easy prey for the deranged Veld. Even though he was still barely able to walk Reno couldn't bear the thought of anyone having to suffer through the frequent punishments, and it was even less acceptable that these unsuspecting rookies would be suffering in his place. Jumping to his feet Reno was halfway to the door before Tseng could even leave his chair.

'Bái mù!' Tseng cursed himself leaping out of his seat and thanks to his unnatural speed he was able to catch Reno just before the redhead started tearing at the front door in a frantic effort to get out. Quick as the Wutaiin was, Reno was quicker in his desperation and the only way Tseng could grab him was to grasp the trailing scarlet strands of his ponytail.

The resulting events happened in a fraction of a second and left Tseng bent double against the doorway wheezing. As soon as he felt the wrench on his hair all sense of reason, time, or place left Reno. Whipping around he slammed an elbow into Tseng's stomach and stumbled head spinning into the kitchen. Grabbing for a knife he fumbled it and a line of blood stretched across his palm.

'Tā mā de!' Losing control and swearing for the second time in as many minutes Tseng raced off in Reno's wake. Seeing the man in the kitchen, holding a knife and bleeding made his breath catch in his throat and almost without thinking Tseng once again hurled himself bodily at Reno. Seizing his wrist he twisted the knife easily out of Reno's weakened hand and using himself as a weight he tried to calm Reno down.

Unfortunately for Tseng this was about the worst thing he could have done, for Reno was in the grip of a flashback so vivid he could taste the blood in his mouth. Letting out an incoherent scream Reno flung Tseng away from him and bolted headlong for the stairs. Taking the steps two at a time he was into his bedroom before Tseng could catch him and slumped against the lockless door to hold it closed.

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The shimmering leaves of Glasswood barely moved as the silent figure of Yuffie the ninja sped through the trees. Her task of leading Rude and his surviving refugees to a safe haven now completed, the princess was out on an even more dangerous mission. As evidenced by the large male corpse bound securely across her shoulders this operation was a lot less pleasant.

The scowl on the young woman's face was less about the body she was carrying and more for the materia she had to use up for the job. Yuffie mouthed a curse at having to use a perfectly good Berserk materia for essentially nothing more than a strength boost. If she could have sent one of her father's bulky warriors in her place she would have, but she was the only one who knew the location of the rockfall that supposedly claimed Rude's life.

Approaching the cave system the dark haired shadow slowed her pace and made a meandering circuit to make sure there was no one following her. Satisfied that no one had yet been ordered to verify the death of the insurgents against the Warlord, Yuffie ended her scenic detour and skipped nimbly up a hillock and through a seemingly solid cliff-face.

Yuffie dragged the bulky corpse behind her down a passage that ran parallel to the one that served as an escape for Rude and the villagers, it was in fact one of the five escape routes she had bragged about to Rude. In the pitch darkness Yuffie manhandled the body out of the tiny crack near the roof of the cave and indifferently perched on the dead man's back to manipulate another fire materia. With her hand in flames she took a second to smile at the glowing rainbow crystals before setting about completing her task.

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Ironically much the same time that Yuffie was hauling dead-weight around Glasswood, Vincent was pursuing a similarly distasteful mission in the Sector One slums. It was the work of five minutes to locate the Sector One Morgue and once he cowed the morgue director by flashing his ShinRa ID it took only a further fifteen minutes to find a body that matched Elena's general description. The director became a little perturbed when Vincent made it clear he meant to take the remains, but when Vincent put him on the phone to none other than Rufus Shinra, the man was all but offering to carry to dead woman himself.

Moving like a wraith Vincent went through a performance much like Yuffie's later undertaking by flitting miles around Mr Jinn's old lair to shake any possible tail following him. Holding the body effortlessly Vincent whipped in and out of existence at least eight times in different places before judging it safe to appear at the ramshackle house. Using the deep shadows of almost 1am as cover Vincent slipped around the open door and entered the dwelling.

First Vincent satisfied himself that no one had gone near let alone moved the bodies of Mr Jinn and his cohorts. Only after he had checked the Barrier materia he had hidden by the window and door did Vincent dump the body on the floor and check the pouch at his waist to make sure he hadn't dropped the things he needed to pull off this crazy scheme of Rufus'.

Because he had spent the last few hours lumping round a corpse Vincent resisted running his fingers through his hair even though it was now slightly matted with sweat and hanging in his face. 'Just a few more things to finish,' he told himself, 'And this will be done with.' He carefully dressed the dead body in one of Elena's old uniforms and wedged one of her guns in it's hand before splaying the body on the ground. Standing smoothly the newly recruited Turk surveyed his handiwork.

The two bodyguards that had nearly done for Elena were now crumpled to the ground on the right side of desk, as if they were starting towards her and were shot one after the other. Mr Jinn was seated behind his desk with his gun in his hand resting on the desk. Cissnei had removed her shuriken from his throat and Vincent had obliterated the wounds by firing one round into the same spot. Vincent had also fired one shot into the dead woman after applying a Life materia for a brief second; he hoped this would simulate the body being alive at the time of the shooting.

Letting out a short sigh Vincent pursed his lips but otherwise showed no signs of distaste for the job he had just completed. The room looked pretty convincing as the scene of a Turk getting caught undercover, but just to make sure the black haired Turk pulled out a green Confuse materia and activated it by throwing it in the air just as he left the room. By the time the door shut the green glow had already gone and anyone walking into the room would find themselves unable to think deeply about anything that might look wrong. Although Vincent mused, if they spent longer than half and hour in the room they might find it difficult to recall their own name.

Pausing just outside the door Vincent palmed a Sense materia and scanned the surrounding streets for any of Mr Jinn's allies or subordinates. The yellow glow that surrounded his hand revealed only a couple of gangs of street children with no weapons, and a definite lack of organized criminals. Vincent curled his lip slightly at the ineptitude of Mr Jinn's allies; if his boss had been assassinated he would have had the building locked down within an hour. Twisting his cloak around himself Vincent disappeared in a swirl of red, heading back to report to Rufus.

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Right on Reno's heels Tseng had to jerk back his hand when Reno slammed the bedroom door. Hearing the redhead's body lean against the door to hold it closed Tseng was reluctant to try and force the door open as he wanted to avoid at all cost hurting Reno further. Propping his hands near the top of the door and hanging his head Tseng started speaking softy but clearly to the man in the other room, 'What happened Reno? I don't even know what I said wrong. Let me in and I swear we can work out what's happening. I can help...'

On the other side of the bedroom door Reno was barely able to hear Tseng's words through the roaring in his brain. Memories of Veld on top of him battering him senseless seemed to hover in front of his eyes, blocking the here and now. When he turned to left he saw himself held by his throat against the wall by the hulking Veld and when he frantically twisted to his right he was assailed by the sight of his own limp body being viciously raped. Still leaning against the door Reno sank his fingers into his hair, about ready to just give up and go insane. That is until by chance his wild eyes lit upon the bottle of lorazepam that doctor had prescribed to help him sleep.

After nearly ten minutes of borderline pleading with Reno to 'Just open the damn door Reno, that's an order Reno, for goddamn Gaia's sake _please_ Reno...' Tseng stiffened in horror as he heard a soft thud from the bedroom. The door suddenly sagged inward slightly but still couldn't open any further than an inch. Heart in his throat Tseng crouched down and applying his considerable strength began to steadily shove open the door. When he had worked it maybe six inches open he was just able to see Reno's leg and foot. It looked like Reno was now sitting against the door.

'Damn it Reno, talk to me!' Tseng snarled harshly. He was thoroughly unnerved by Reno's uncharacteristic silence and the longer it continued the more sure he was that all hell was about to break loose. 'Gǒupì, just say something you little...'

Tseng tailed off before he could even get started on his tirade, for barely audible over his growling Reno was speaking. If possible Tseng's tension notched up even tighter because it hardly even sounded like Reno anymore. 'I'm sorry yo... Never good enough for this Turk shit anyways. S'Okay though, s'gunna be alright kay Tseng? Y'Don't need to worry no more 'coz everything's gunna be fine soon. Then you can go Tseng... Right? And that'll be good 'coz you don't need to be here...'

Throughout the disjointed speech Reno's voice was wavering from almost clear to quite faint, but with the last two sentences he trailed into a whisper before falling silent. Even before the last words registered properly in his mind Tseng was hurling his full weight at the door. He still didn't want to hurt Reno by bursting in, but his sense of things being dreadfully wrong made him throw caution to the winds. The door flew half open when he hit it and his momentum carried him into the centre of the room before he spun and stumbled to his knees by Reno's still form behind the door.

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It was dark in the executive suite at ShinRa Corp. Shadows filled the corners of the lavishly carpeted corridors and the wind howled outside as it failed to rattle tightly fitted windows. The moon's pale glow struggled to penetrate the Mako Reactor fog over the massive plate that was Midgar. Slumber had settled over most of the city as the clocks chimed 4am, but for some sleep proved to be an elusive beast.

Elena hunched in the unfamiliar bed that Rufus provided for her. Now that she was officially dead there was no way she could go back to her apartment and she hated being without the comfort of her own home. Even though she wasn't in the same building that the Turk Director worked in and even though Veld was probably at his own home snoring in bed, Elena could feel tension settling into her body just being at ShinRa Headquarters. Clutching the gun that she always kept under the pillow Elena struggled vainly to calm her thoughts and get some sleep.

Across the hallway in his own plush boudoir Rufus wasn't even making an effort at sleep. Ignoring his giant four-poster bed he sat in the darkness at his desk, leaning back in his cushioned chair and staring intently at a current game of chess laid out in front of him. He often used the game of chess to visualize his plots and to plan the ramifications of various schemes, but never had the wooden pieces been used to represent something so potentially deadly to himself. Now that the first moves had been made Rufus knew that things could only get more perilous for him and the Turks he had come to value, even care about. Sacrifices would have to be made and right now the least of them would be a good night's sleep.

Near the edge of Sector Zero Vincent sat on the roof of his rundown house. He stared up at the hazy moon and tried to think calmly about the happenings at ShinRa. He had only been working under Veld for a week before he noticed the extreme nature of the 'discipline' that was meted out for even minor infractions and in that week he observed the rookie he joined with, Cissnei, come back from a punishment session sporting a broken finger and bruised ribs. When Vincent himself had been subject to punishment in the second week he had talked Cissnei into coming with him to try and report the abuse of power to Rufus Shinra. For someone who kept his emotions under strict control, Vincent was having difficulty restraining his rage when he remembered the pain on his partner's face, in fact even on relatively normal nights that memory still troubled his sleep.

Many miles away in the breathing green forests of Glasswood, the Wutai Resistance slept secure in the safe haven of Shadowtree. At least, most of them slept. Sitting with his back against a gnarled and twisted tree Rude watched the shifting shadows that moved over the forest floor. He had been on the continent of Wutai for three days now and he had two things gnawing away at his mind. The first was the identity of the mysterious person who sent Yuffie to his aid. The second was more amorphous, but more troubling and had to do with how he had been located by the warlord's forces. 'All in all,' thought Rude. 'I'll be surprised if I ever get some sleep.'

In the 'safe'-house in Sector Five Reno lay unconscious on the floor. Tseng spent a brief moment shaking him roughly to try and wake him, but this dislodged the pill bottle still in Reno's hand. Taking this in in a split-second Tseng was out of the room as fast as he could move and he returned mere seconds later with a large glass of heavily salted water and a sopping wet washcloth. Tseng squeezed the cloth over Reno dripping a steady stream of cold water onto his face. The second Reno groaned and tried to turn his face away Tseng was ready and scooped his arms under the thin Turk. Propping him as upright as he could Tseng force-fed the salt water as fast as he dared into his patient until Reno choked and began to retch.

The Wutaiin Turk turned Reno so he was on his side in his arms and held him while the redhead vomited up the large amount of pills he had swallowed. Tseng ignored the smell and sick going everywhere and kept a steadying hand rubbing in circles on Reno's back as he brought it all up. Stretching his arm out to grab the glass of pure water sitting on the bedside table Tseng waiting for the retching to stop and offered the cup to Reno. When the other man didn't take the offered vessel Tseng looked down and saw those blue-green eyes sliding closed. Shoving the glass onto the floor he gathered Reno into his arms and slapped him harshly across the face. Again as he shook Reno he lost all self control and heard himself moaning, 'Oh Gaia Reno please... Stay awake Reno... Tā mā de... Please, you can't Reno, you can't go to sleep...'

Translations:  
Bái mù - Blind idiot  
Tā mā de - Fuck  
Gǒupì - Shit


	6. Chapter 6

Dawn rose over the camp at Shadowtree without sleep passing within shouting distance of Rude. When the sun finally sent questing rays through the thick forest he was still staring into the distance and compulsively clenching his fists. Many things were running through the mind of the taciturn Turk, so many questions and a total dearth of anything resembling an answer. The two main things gnawing at his thoughts were the identity of Yuffie's contact, their so called mutual friend, and the other thing that tore away at him was that he had no idea if Reno was alive or dead.

Letting his head fall back against the tree behind him Rude stared at the rippling green canopy above his head. He had been the one to find Reno in the dungeon all alone and at the edge of death, he had been the one to cradle his partner's limp body while frantically calling Tseng. His right fist was still slightly stiff, as when he had first seen Reno lying in a pool of blood he had lashed out as hard as he could, putting a large hole in the cinderblocks that formed the basement walls. He hadn't even been able to go with Reno and Tseng to the hospital for Veld had dispatched him to Wutai that very night. He sent a silent apology to Reno for abandoning him even though Reno knew how it worked when you were a Turk.

A shadow fell across Rude's face and he inwardly cursed that someone had managed to sneak up on him. Even though he was supposedly safe he wouldn't be a proper Turk if he lost his awareness of the world around him. Keeping his face impassive Rude flicked his gaze up to the figure standing over him and in a neutral tone said, 'Good morning Yuffie, anything I can help you with?'

Out of the corner of his eye Rude could see a smile stretching across the face of the Wutaiin princess. He resisted blinking as a hand was thrust towards his face and a lively voice chirped, 'Come on Rude, I don't know why you didn't sleep in a tent. Anyways we need to get ourselves to my tent for now is the time for all things to become clear. Oh don't give me that look, I get to tell you everything I know so hurry up.'

At Yuffie's words Rude had been sitting there with his mouth hanging open, pulling himself together he took the offered hand and used it to haul himself upright. Resisting the overwhelming urge to groan as stiffened muscles complained about the night spent outside, Rude trailed after Yuffie through the maze of the camp. Even though it has only just gone dawn the camp was bustling with activity and the camp members that Rude had brought in all looked up when he passed and murmured small blessings and words of gratitude.

As they strode towards Yuffie's tent on the far side of the camp Rude put a hand on the young woman's shoulder and muttered, 'The villagers, the people with me when you retrieved us from the caves, what will happen to them now? Their homes are gone, families are split apart and most of the people they have ever known are dead. Will they have a place in the resistance even if they are no use for the fight that will come?'

Yuffie turned to glare at Rude but when she saw the serious expression on his face her own hard gaze softened. Placing gentle fingers over the large scarred hand on her shoulder the ninja girl smiled again a little wryly, 'You aren't in the East anymore Rude, we don't leave our people to die in the crossfire. The people that you worked so hard to save will be sent to the city of Wutai and should they choose they will never have to see combat again.'

Touched by the girl's earnestness Rude blinked behind his sunglasses and met her smile with a tiny quirking of his lips. Noting that they had reached a gaudy purple tent Rude stood back and let Yuffie enter her own quarters first before following her in and closing the flap behind him. He paused until the girl draped herself over a tall wooden chair and then seated himself across from her and waited.

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Slouched behind his desk in his office Rufus Shinra attempted to do something he hadn't had much practice at and hated with a passion; he waited. Since dawn had risen over the hulking towers of ShinRa Corp he had read the first twenty pages of eight different books and finally to pass the time between dawn on the Eastern Continent and dawn over Wutai Rufus scanned the data he had managed to hack into from ShinRa medical.

The admission records of the on-site emergency room both reassured him that he was doing the right thing, and sickened him beyond belief. Without alerting either the staff at the medical facility or Veld Rufus now held in his hands ShinRa patient records from the last two years. Even skim-reading the data Rufus could see that Reno had been admitted to the medical ward twenty eight times for short stays and most other agents in the Turks had been admitted on at least five occasions each that from the timing were obvious that the admissions were unrelated to any missions.

Shaking his head to dispel growing nausea Rufus tossed the papers on his desk and tilted his head back so he could stare at the ceiling. He could have been sitting there for a year for all he knew when a buzz sounded from his vid-com jolting him out of dark and violent thoughts. Sitting up so fast that he nearly fell off his chair Rufus ran his fingers roughly through his hair and straightened his slightly crumpled white suit before leaning forward and pressing the button to answer the video call.

Rufus had to force himself to stifle a sigh of relief when the vid-com screen brightened to reveal the faces of Yuffie and Rude. Composing himself, the son of ShinRa nodded at the beaming face of Yuffie and the gaping face of Rude and without preamble he got right to business. 'Rude, I'm glad to see that you made it to Shadowtree relatively unharmed. Believe me it was tough enough getting young Yuffie to you in time in Glasswood. I thank Gaia that she lives up to her reputation of the great ninja of Wutai, for I can't afford to lose any loyal Turks at this point.'

Ignoring Yuffie as she wriggled in delight at the praise Rufus noted the look on Rude's face and fell silent. Five years now he had known the reserved Turk and over that time he had made a point of observing mannerisms and facial cues. The twitch happening at Rude's left temple coupled with and the steady thinning of his lips meant that an eruption was imminent and would probably be a big one. Rufus was prepared to allow Rude some familiarity as the big man had been through the proverbial wringer in a very short time.

Voice low and dangerous Rude broke the silence, 'Rufus, what the fuck is going on? For the last three days I've been fighting for my life on a mission that should have taken all of three hours. I wasn't even allowed to take Reno to hospital after finding him how I did because apparently this mission was critical to ShinRa's interests.' Rude's voice began to get louder and harsher. 'Then I'm saved by a very competent fighter who nevertheless is little more than a girl and finally I end up here talking to you and it appears you know a hell of a lot more than I was ever told! Now is not the fucking time for double-talk Rufus, what the fuck am I in the middle of?!'

Throughout the whole tirade Rufus had sat quietly with his hands folded on his desk. When Rude snarled his last question the blonde man on the other end of the vid-com took a deep breath and raised his cool gaze to meet Rude's furious brown eyes. 'I understand your anger Turk but now isn't the time for indulging in emotion.' Rufus contrived to at the same time sound both understanding and menacing. 'You're right, you are in the middle of something bigger than what you can see, but I am not the architect of this. To cut this short Rude, when you found Reno in the dungeon you brought to a head a probe I was conducting. Seeing Reno's condition was when it became apparent to me that your Director Veld has gone insane.'

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On his knees on the floor with Reno unconscious in his lap, Tseng felt more helpless than he ever had in his highly eventful life. Even though Reno's blank comatose state had given way to near normal sleep, Tseng was still as close as he ever got to panicking over the damage the redhead could have done to himself. They had been in the same position on the floor for almost four hours now and twice over that time Tseng had applied a Cure materia to Reno's chest in an attempt to slowly heal him. He held the materia tightly in his hand ready to apply it again in another couple of hours if Reno was still out to it.

An hour later and Tseng was sure that he knew what pure unadulterated fear felt like. Reno had been dead to the world for over five hours and Tseng didn't dare use the Cure materia again for another hour in case he compromised Reno's natural immune system. Finally losing his almost iron-clad composure Tseng bent over Reno's tousled head and started murmuring quietly but urgently to him in the hopes of breaking through the fog of unconsciousness.

'Gaia Reno, you really know how to get my attention do you not? Hah, not that you would know but you don't actually need to do anything except walk past. The moment you first strolled into ShinRa like you owned the place I knew that there was something about you, but I would never have guessed that you would get to me so completely. To be honest Reno, while you can't hear me so it's okay, I never thought I would let anyone matter to me ever...'

Tseng trailed off, his deep brown eyes widening as Reno let out a faint groan. The rehead's eyelids fluttered briefly but beyond that he lay still. Nearly approaching frantic Tseng pulled Reno close and continued to whisper non-stop in his ear.

'Wǒ de mā hé tā de fēngkuáng de wàishēng dōu, I don't even know what I'm doing here Reno. I kill people for a living, I'm not a psychologist. Right now all I want is for you to hear my voice and open your damn eyes. I don't exactly see why you would want to come back to my voice, but if it works... Dìyù, I would probably slap Rufus across the face if I thought it would bring you back to me… I mean bring you back to us.'

'I don't really have friends in the Turks Reno, well if I'm honest I have no friends, so no one knows what goes on in my head. Even notorious assassins and legendary hardasses have pasts you know. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one in Midgar who knows how beautiful Wutai looks in the dawn light or what it feels like to walk the forests and be one with the ancient trees. Big tough Tseng misses the forests of his home Reno, laugh if you want, but sometimes I think I could live my life without seeing Wutai again so long as I could see you everyday.'

As Tseng paused for breath he felt Reno stir slightly in his arms. Suppressing the urge to look down at his charge he just drew in a shaky breath and kept on talking.

'I hate seeing you like this Turk, knowing that somehow I triggered all of this. I wish I knew just what I said so that I could apologize and figure out a way to take it back. I've never admitted to this ever, ever, ever before, but you scared me Reno. When you ran and wouldn't let me into the bedroom I nearly went out of my mind... Ah Gaia just don't, please don't do that again...'

This time Tseng stopped talking abruptly and snapped his gaze down to Reno. The redhead was breathing normally and his wide aquamarine eyes were fixed on Tseng's face. Holding his breath in case this was an illusion that an exhalation could shatter Tseng stared into the sea-green eyes looking back at him. After what seemed like an eternity the Wutaiin Turk broke the silence.

'Are you still feeling sick Reno?' He asked quietly keeping it almost impersonal. 'Is there any blurring in your vision?'

The spell between them broken, Reno averted his gaze and shook his head. He stared at the floor for a moment and then tilted his head up to pin Tseng with a glare. In a hoarse voice he growled at Tseng, 'You think this was your fault?'

Without waiting for a reply Reno continued, 'You actually think that you can blame yourself for this yo? I hate to break it to you Tseng but you aren't exactly the cause of all my troubles. I wouldn't've made it out of the hospital if you hadn't... If you weren't...'

Trailing off Reno bit his lip hard in an attempt to hold back tears. For so long he had kept himself alive by denying every emotion that rose inside and now he was broken down so completely he had no strength to keep the storm at bay. Despite all his efforts a hot tear rolled down Reno's cheek and a shudder wracked his thin frame.

Shaken by the fact that Reno had heard at least part of his distressed ranting Tseng was struck momentarily speechless. He wrapped his arms gently around Reno's trembling body and just sat there, radiating mute solace, until the shivering stopped and Reno was able to compose himself somewhat. Embarrassed at his loss of control Reno wouldn't look up again to Tseng, but slowly his arms crept around the distraught Turk and they sat holding each other on the bedroom floor.

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Two hours after the start of his talk with Rufus Rude was beginning to feel like he had been hit over the head with a brick. He could hardly take in the fact that Veld had been inflicting brutal torture on his fellow Turks even though he had been on the receiving end of more than one excessive beating. The moment he became convinced of his Director's insanity however was when Rufus produced the medical records and proceeded to read details of three of Reno's stays in hospital that couldn't in any way be attributed to mission related injuries. Bewilderment filled the usually unflappable Turk but was slowly giving way to rage.

Rude closed his eyes for a moment to try and calm himself and then when Rufus paused in his account of Veld's atrocities he looked up and spoke. 'Alright Rufus I get what you're telling me. Veld is psychotic, he's using the Turks as a sick playground for his lunacy and this can't continue. I assume that you have a plan to take him down or I wouldn't be hearing any of this, so just tell me what you want me to do.'

As he had been talking Rufus had been waiting for Rude to comprehend the full gravity of the situation. When the glowering Turk finally interrupted him Rufus leant forward in his chair and met Rude's dark brown eyes with his steady blue gaze. 'I'm glad you're with me Rude, for I couldn't even begin to move against Veld without the support of my Turks. You will remember that new Turks were recruited before this came to a head, well two of them have already come to me after experiencing 'discipline' with Veld. They rescued Elena much in the way you were aided by Yuffie; Elena was sent on a mission meant to end in her death the same as your mission was meant to end you.'

Even the ice-cold Son of Shinra couldn't suppress a shudder at how close two of his Turks had come to death. Recovering quickly he sat back from the screen and laced his fingers in front of him. 'I do indeed have a plan Rude, but I can't enlighten you to the full extent of it yet. For now I need you to stay in Wutai with Yuffie and train a select group of warriors to come back to Midgar when the time is right. I know that you would like to be in the middle of this fight Rude, but I need someone I can trust heading a force that Veld has no idea about. Will you agree to this for me Turk?'

Gritting his teeth Rude fought to keep his face expressionless. Ever since Rufus had told him two hours ago that Reno was alive but off the job all he had wanted to do was to storm back to the Eastern Continent and stand like a living shield in front of his friend. Swallowing his bitterness Rude nodded once and let out a long breath. 'I will do this Rufus, but be sure that you send word quickly once the action begins. I don't want to be stuck in the arse-end of nowhere, no offense Yuffie, if there is fighting to be done.'

Behind Rude Yuffie grinned and flicked him in the back of the head and in front of him Rufus let a rare genuine smile flicker briefly across his face. Rufus absentmindedly shuffled the papers in front of him before replying to his faithful Turk. 'I knew you wouldn't fail me Rude and I can assure you that I won't make you wait for long. On another note, I would ask that you keep that vidscreen handy while you put together your fighters because as soon as this conversation ends I will be sending my screen with Tseng so that you can speak with Reno and let him know that you are okay. I would ask however that you keep your location confidential for the time being.'

Of all the 'other notes' that Rufus could have added to his orders, the chance to speak to Reno was about the last that Rude could have expected. Overwhelmed by the sheer amount of emotions he assailing him Rude thanked Gaia for the fact that he wore his sunglasses everywhere as he blinked back tears. Not knowing how to express his gratitude to his boss he just nodded and grunted. On the screen Rufus bit back a half smile trying not show Rude that his emotions were blatantly obvious on his face, the screen went blank as the Vice-President of ShinRa prepared to set his plans in motion.

****

Translations (Mainly sourced from Firefly so don't shoot me if they're wrong).  
Wǒ de mā hé tā de fēngkuáng de wàishēng dōu - Mother of god and all her crazy nephews.  
Dìyù - Hell


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven.

Rufus was out of his chair the instant his vidscreen went blank. Now that his backup strategy with Rude was set in motion he could proceed with his other, more immediate intrigues. Energized by his talk with the man he considered to be his most stalwart Turk, Rufus quickly made his way through the extensive corridors of ShinRa Corp to the executive suites. Taking a second to marshal his thoughts he then knocked on the door of the room in which he had ordered Elena to stay.

Before the tap of his knuckles on the wood even began to die away Rufus found himself face to face with a dishevelled and irate looking Elena. Waiting until she silently stepped back out of the doorway Rufus strode into her quarters and sat peremptorily on her couch. When the woman reluctantly joined him and sat across from him in an armchair Rufus finally let a slight smile drift across his face.

Leaning forward in his seat Rufus captured Elena's slightly startled gaze with his piercing blue stare and made his opening play; going straight for the jugular he stated, 'You won't be trapped in this room for much longer Elena, you have my word on it. I have told you the details of the problems that face us within the Turks but now I can reveal to you my plans for remedying the situation.'

Satisfied that he had Elena's full attention Rufus folded his arms and continued, 'I have just spent the last few hours talking to Rude via vidscreen from his place of refuge and his role in my plans has been laid out to him. For obvious reasons I will not tell you his exact location or how I intend to deploy him but suffice to say he is crucial to taking down Veld, as are you. Now, before I even start Elena I will ask you just once, are you prepared to stand with me against the Director of the Turks and even my father to see this through?'

When Elena fixed him with an incredulous stare and snapped 'Yes' without hesitating Rufus nodded briskly. 'I thought as much but I had to be sure. As I did with Rude I offered you a choice in the matter to make this as much your fight as it is mine. And now that I have the formalities out of the way, I have a second question to ask of you Elena. How do you feel about turning into a ghost?'

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Tseng was never sure how long he dozed on the bedroom floor propped against the wall with Reno but it seemed like only minutes before he was woken by the redhead's tormented cries. Feeling his back scream in protest at the unnatural position he had fallen asleep in Tseng tried to straighten into a more comfortable pose but only succeeded in jolting Reno out of his nightmare. It took all of Tseng's catlike reflexes to snake an arm out and catch the redhead before he hit the ground and he pulled Reno close murmuring softly in Wutaiin until the haze of sleep and fear in the man's eyes gave way to exhaustion again.

In the next hour Reno woke Tseng twice more with muffled groans and jerking movements and finally the legendary Wutaiin endurance started giving out. Thinking to move Reno to the more comfortable bed and sleep on the floor beside it Tseng found it impossible to loosen Reno's hold on his arms once he laid him on the bed. Almost drunk on tiredness and anxiety Tseng was beyond considering the ramifications of his actions and simply positioned himself so that he was sitting behind Reno on the bed holding him in his arms. The last thing he knew was the feeling of Reno's hand tightly grasping his arm before he slipped into sleep.

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They had planned for Cissnei to provoke an eruption from Veld but Vincent had not been able to bring himself to agree at the time or at all. He watched his friend carefully throughout the day for any sign that the order had been given and decided early in the afternoon that he could not risk Cissnei getting hurt in the implementation of Rufus' dangerous scheme. Waiting until he was sure that Cissnei was buried in paperwork Vincent took matters into his own hands and put his own version of the plan into action. He sent a message to Rufus to deploy Elena as soon as possible and set out to do a very dangerous thing; he was going to light the fuse on the bomb that was Veld.

Vincent knew that pretty much anything would set off the volatile Director of the Turks but he also didn't want to merely trigger a verbal dressing-down. Stopping briefly at the staff kitchen Vincent made a large cup of black coffee and quickly strode towards the Director's office before the hot drink could cool. As Vincent came down the corridor he saw Veld castigating a junior agent and melted into the shadows. When the young Turk scurried away and Veld turned to go back into his office Vincent walked swiftly forward and pretended to stumble when he reached the Director, throwing the scalding liquid down the man's front.

He thought he had braced himself for the consequences of his deliberate act but Vincent was unprepared for the immediate roundhouse blow that hit him in the back of the head and knocked him to his knees. Before he could recover his breath Vincent found his arms pinned behind his back as he was unceremoniously dragged off to the basement. The recent recruit had just enough time to remember his mission and force himself to remain limp before he was thrown to the concrete floor of the underground room.

The punishment seemed to continue forever but in reality it was only a few minutes. Vincent lay passively on the ground while he was kicked and battered, moving only to shield his head from Veld's assault. He had wanted to goad Veld into a disciplinary episode but he had been unaware of the escalation of violence in the Director's actions. The dark haired Turk let out a hiss of pain when a particularly vicious kick caught him in the ribs and he sent a small plea to Gaia for Elena's prompt arrival.

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Sitting on her bed in the lush ShinRa apartment Elena glowered at the wall. It had been past midday the previous day by the time Rufus unveiled to her the full extent of his devious plan and the woman was chafing at the bit to take on the role of vengeful phantom. Elena knew that it would take at least another day for Rufus to engineer the setting for her ghostly debut but she hated sitting in her luxurious room while the Turks were living in perpetual fear of their Director. Heaving a pillow at the wall she went to flop back onto the bed but bounced upright at the sound of a knock on her door.

Throwing open the door Elena was startled to see Rufus standing in front of her with a grim look on his face. Without waiting for her to even say a word the Son of Shinra strode inside leaving the door wide open. Attempting to gain control of himself Rufus turned to Elena and took a deep breath. 'There has been a change in plans Elena, things are moving apace. I had intended for Cissnei to provoke a disciplinary session late tomorrow so we could send you in, in full costume but bloody Vincent…' Rufus took a moment to calm himself, 'Vincent decided that he should be the one to incur Veld's wrath and he is right now being dragged into the basement. It is time for the ghost to appear Elena, are you ready?'

Before Rufus had even finished Elena was nodding her head. A humourless and anticipatory smile spread across the woman's face and she said, 'Get me there sir, in costume, and I promise you that Director Veld will not know what hit him. I'll put the fear of the dead into that sadistic fuck if I have to haunt him all the way from Mideel to the Northern Crater.'

Permitting himself a small hard smirk at his Turk's determination Rufus walked to the door and beckoned to a pair of maids who were hovering nervously in the hallway. 'I presumed to predict your answer Elena so I brought along the artists who will transform you into the vengeful ghost of murder most foul. Sit on the bed and follow their instructions and we will turn you into a spectre so fearful that Veld won't be able to sleep without a nightlight.'

Still wearing a faint remnant of her smile Elena sat on the bed and kept still as the maids whirled around her with diaphanous fabrics and various face-paints. She could feel the build-up of paint on her face and kept catching glimpses of the costume garbing her but it still was no preparation for the moment when Rufus pulled her to her feet and held up a long mirror. Where once there was a stern and well groomed woman there now stood a vision from a nightmare. Blonde hair floated around her face seeming to defy gravity. Her face was a dead, pallid white with dark smudging around the eyes and a gruesomely detailed bullet wound adorning her temple. Elena let the inner ghoul in her admire the appearance of pulverized flesh at the fictional point of bullet entry and when she smiled a drop of fake blood rolled from the corner of her mouth.

Elena was jerked out of her appraisal of her own appearance by a strange sound. Rufus was trying to suppress a very uncharacteristic chuckle. The chuckle turned into full throated laughter and Rufus had to sit next to Elena on the bed to recover his composure. 'Forgive me Elena, I found myself imagining the look on the Director's face when he lays eyes on you. I wish I had the time to work a camera into your costume somehow because I have a feeling we would enjoy keeping this escapade for Reno and Rude to view when this is all over.'

Seeing the dark humour in the situation Elena also relaxed a little and grinned at the usually aloof Vice President of ShinRa Corp. She was pleasantly surprised to find that she rather liked the person under the arrogant and unapproachable façade the man usually erected. 'Trust me sir, by the time this is done you won't be able to forget the sweet sound of Veld's screams. I don't take pleasure in someone else's pain as a rule, it's usually just business, but I feel that in this case some rules can probably be suspended.'

Rufus further surprised Elena by letting out an unrestrained guffaw and pulling her up from the bed. Adjusting her elaborate costume Rufus laughed again and ushered her out of the room. 'If we can pull this off as intended Elena I will personally commission a team of actors to recreate our triumph. And I will also authorize you for two weeks paid leave to the hot springs of Mideel; Gaia knows you will have earned it.'

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It was 3 hours after Tseng moved him to the bed that Reno slowly swam into consciousness. He was warm and comfortable and the nausea that haunted him even in sleep seemed to be gone; Reno sighed, concluding he must still be dreaming. The arms that enfolded him had to be fantasy and the warm body that supported him couldn't possibly be real. As he gradually emerged from the world of sleep Reno bewilderedly acknowledged that he seemed to be on the bed and unbelievably in the arms of Tseng.

Then the real world slammed back into place around him and a wave of queasiness rolled over him. Reno retched uncontrollably and hurled himself off of the bed, stumbling to the bathroom and barely making it to the toilet before noisily throwing up everything he had ever eaten. He was so engrossed in the violence of his up-chuck that he barely noticed Tseng's cool hands pulling his hair back and resting soothingly on the back of his neck.

As the gagging and heaving receded Reno was finally able to become aware of the slender, chill fingers pressed firmly against his wrist and he realized that Tseng was hunched over next to him making sure that his pulse was regular and strong. However, before he could lift his head and summon the powers of speech, Reno felt his gorge rise again and he vomited copiously until there was nothing to bring up but bile.

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Elena made her way through the winding corridors of ShinRa Corp as fast as she could but was slowed by the trailing fabrics swathed around her and the tendrils of hair that obscured her vision. Moving as quickly as possible it took Elena much longer than she would have liked to navigate the sprawling hallways and she was panting by the time she skidded to a halt in front of the basement door. Elena stopped for a moment to compose herself and make sure that her ghostly white makeup wasn't sliding down her face and then braced herself to shove open the thick wooden door.

The tremendous crash of the door hitting the wall startled Veld enough that he staggered back from Vincent's battered body. Not giving the sadistic Director time to recover Elena drifted forward into the doorway taking full advantage of her ethereal hair and clothing, and with a suitably vengeful look on her face she glared at the unnerved Veld. Repressing a grin as Veld staggered backwards into the wall Elena did her best to give the impression of floating and moved into the room.

In the face of what appeared to be the bitter and dangerous ghost of someone he sent to her death Veld became completely unglued. Cringing back into the corner of the basement he started to jibber under his breath about the demands placed on Turk leaders and how the end always justifies the means. Finding it difficult to contain her contempt and anger Elena took another step forward and blinked hard to activate the temporary contacts she was wearing.

The 'ghost' floating in the door of the basement took on a terrifying aspect as its eyes began to glow with an unholy light. Veld cowered speechlessly in the corner as the spectre glared down at him and shuddered at the murderous look in her fiery eyes. Elena used every advantage his fear gave her and languidly raised a hand to point condemningly at her former boss. The woman accurately judged the moment that Veld's fear reached its peak and was already stepping back out of the door as Veld surged up out of the corner. Thanking her lucky stars that Rufus had planned this down to the minutiae Elena took one more step back and vanished.

Hustled behind the door Elena listened to Veld stumbling out into the hallway and then roaring off along the dim hallway towards the office levels. She stood, still covered in the magical black sheet of vanishing, shoulder to shoulder with Rufus until they were both sure that Veld was really gone and once the corridor was quiet again they rushed into the basement. Elena stood back, unwilling to contaminate Vincent's wounds with her powdery makeup and she watched as Rufus knelt next to the man to check his vital signs.

Once they were certain that Vincent had nothing broken, Elena and Rufus lifted him between them and hurried him off as fast as they could in the opposite direction to where Veld had disappeared. Unable to contain himself Rufus started to chuckle quietly which set off Elena who was soon trying to choke back laughter. Despite the fact that they now had to get Vincent to a healer quickly and Elena had to get out of the public halls before the ruse was totally blown neither Elena nor Rufus could forget the look on Veld's face not a minute before that had betrayed his moment of utter pants-wetting terror.

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Reno awoke to the soft sound of birds celebrating some time around midday, a strange contrast to the feeling of cold porcelain against his cheek and the impression that his spine was trying to make a painful break for freedom. As the world came into focus around him Reno became aware of warm arms propping him up against the toilet bowl and he cringed inwardly at the realization that Tseng had spent the night literally holding his hair back. In the interval before Tseng joined him in the land of the waking Reno took the opportunity to force his mind to work without distraction. As his thoughts began to move however his brain was thoroughly hijacked.

'Hello slumrat,' whispered a familiar voice in his mind. 'Boy, you've really been milking his sympathy haven't you? Too thick to finish the job of killing yourself and now you're spreading the pain as if you enjoy seeing everyone miserable like you. You can't even die right you unparalleled fuckwit, you're making yourself look fucking weak. Do you like eviscerating the people you care about yo?'

Reno closed his eyes and gritted his teeth vainly attempting to block out the voice of Evil Reno and his vicious words, but he never had been able to banish the voice before it chose to fall silent of its own accord. 'A worthless piece of shit like you simply shouldn't be impacting on anyone else's life Reno, you know that right? You need to stop parading around like you're worthy of attention and shut the fuck up until you find yourself free to finish the job properly. Look yo, you know how to put on the mask so fucking do it and have the consideration to do it quietly. No one wants to hear about your shit.'

Even though Reno's eyes were squeezed tightly shut a single tear managed to escape and run down his cheek. As always he had no argument for Evil Reno and in this case he found himself agreeing with every poisonous word. Behind him Reno felt Tseng start to stir and in the instant before the other man woke Reno swore to himself that he would keep the hell in his head locked up tight and that he would unwaveringly present a mask of strength and normalcy to the people who for some reason gave a shit. If anyone had been looking they would have seen an expression of heart-breaking agony disappear as if it had been wiped away, to be replaced with a look of calm stoicism to rival Tseng's own.

Carefully so as not to jostle the sleeping Tseng, Reno eased back from the toilet and turned so that he was now the one holding his lightly snoring boss in a seated position. The peaceful expression on Tseng's face made the Wutaiin Turk seem much younger and that alone already threatened to break Reno's fragile façade. With a supreme effort of will Reno averted his gaze and softly shook Tseng's shoulder to wake him. It took longer than usual to pull Tseng from the arms of sleep and every second it took, Reno felt guiltier for being the cause of Tseng's exhaustion.

Finally Tseng's brown eyes flew open, his training allowing him to go from dead sleep to kill-ready in a split second. Even though Reno had seen it before he still could help but start slightly at Tseng switching suddenly from sleep to looking at him and waiting for him to say something. Reno licked his dry lips and whispered, 'I'd take a shot from my own EMR for a coffee yo.'

Slowly, taking time for horrendously cricked necks and backs to stop twinging, Reno followed Tseng downstairs. Every few steps Tseng would turn around to make sure that Reno was still on his feet but Reno was surprised at how good he felt, that is until he passed the bedroom and saw all of the used Cure materia strewn on the floor. Keeping his face expressionless but swearing silently Reno tried to calculate the cost of the medicine that Tseng had used to keep him alive and a quiet groan escaped when he arrived at a total. Slouching into a chair by the kitchen table Reno made himself another promise; that he would never again cost his friends any more than he was worth – nothing.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight.

Despite his blurry eyes and feeling like he had been run over by a truck Tseng snapped almost straight into consciousness when Reno shook his arm. With the siren's call of coffee to urge him on Tseng staggered downstairs to the lounge, heroically refraining from growling at Reno for looking chirpier than him thanks to the massive dose of Cure applied the night before. Successfully arriving at the kitchen despite the odds Tseng displayed a talent that not many people knew he had and brewed two absolutely perfect mugs of Costa del Sol coffee.

Silence had reigned over the kitchen for a brief period as Reno started to inhale his coffee like a man dying of caffeine-withdrawal and while he was distracted Tseng took the opportunity to subtly study the redhead. From what Tseng could observe Reno seemed to have turned one massive emotional corner in the night, appearing much calmer and more collected in contrast to the combination of unmitigated hopelessness and despair he had displayed before.

The silence continued until Tseng's phone screeched into the stillness causing Reno's coffee to go everywhere and startling a curse out of the usually unflappable Tseng. Picking up the call with a feeling of trepidation and stepping out of the kitchen Tseng heard the voice of Rufus Shinra on the other end of the line. Attempting to smarten up his ideas Tseng shook his head sharply and snapped out, 'Yes sir? Is everything okay? Do you need me at ShinRa?'

Listening for a long moment Tseng relaxed slightly and at Rufus' next words his eyes flew wide open. 'What!? I mean sorry sir… I'll be there as soon as I can. Reno will appreciate this so much sir, Gaia knows, it might help in pulling him back from the edge…' Even as the words escaped his mouth Tseng was already closing his eyes and wanting to rip out his loose tongue. Rufus of course didn't miss the reference and rapped out an order for more information.

Tseng took a second to damn himself as several types of fuckwit and stepped further down the hall so he was definitely out of Reno's earshot. Not bothering to stall Tseng started speaking in a clinically expressionless tone, 'There was an episode last night after you called sir. Reno overheard about the new recruits and lost it. He tried to leave the house and when I stopped him he locked himself in the bedroom and overdosed on the medication prescribed to him. I used three Cures and I still thought he wouldn't…' Even with his Wutaiin stoicism Tseng was unable to stifle a tiny choking noise of distress.

Gritting his teeth at his lapse in control Tseng fell silent as he listened to Rufus' clipped response. Without a goodbye or any such niceties he hung up and walked slowly back into the kitchen where Reno was sitting staring at his half-drunk coffee. Sitting down again so he could talk to Reno on an equal footing Tseng said curtly, 'Rufus will be here shortly Reno, he has decided that we need to start acting instead of reacting. I, uh, he knows about last night. There's nothing we can do about the Veld situation if we keep secrets from each other. I… I need to know that you understand…That you understand that I couldn't hide it…'

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When Tseng ducked out to answer the call Reno watched the man until he disappeared from sight and then his mask shattered around him. The pain on his face would have caused any hardened killer to flinch but as a tear gathered at the corner of his blue-green eye it was as if a shutter had been pulled across his features, clearing his face of any expression at all. Stretching his senses to the limit Reno cut off his emotions and put his entire self into trying to hear what Tseng didn't want to be heard.

Snippets of the conversation in the hallway filtered into Reno's consciousness and a small part of him mused that it was lucky his emotions were tucked away in his head. 'Reno will appreciate this… The episode last night…Locked himself in… Overdosed…' At this point Reno stopped listening and impassively tried to prepare himself for whatever scene might explode into horridness when Tseng re-joined him in the kitchen.

Clasping his hands tight enough around his coffee cup to turn his knuckles white Reno stared into the steaming depths of his drink and listened intently to the sound of Tseng trudging back into the room. Trying to buy himself some time to get his emotions totally under control Reno stayed outwardly stoic but cringed inside at the sharp tone of Tseng's words. One sentence echoed in his head and Reno closed his eyes, hearing over and over again, 'Rufus will be here shortly.'

A virulent curse itched to break free of Reno's lips but he held it together and instead of swearing he said quietly, 'I get why you had to tell him yo, he's the big bossman an' all. You're good at your job and I can't picture you flipping burgers, which is what would happen if you tried to hide something from Rufus 'Scary' Shinra right?'

Loud enough to echo off the walls of the small kitchen Reno's stomach let out a ferocious growl and he forced a wry smile. 'Hey yo Bossman, would you mind if I cooked us some fuckin' eggs**(1)**? I think my stomach is about to eat itself if I don't get some breakfast. I have to warn you though, the fabulous Sinclair Scrambled Eggs will ruin you for any other breakfast ever again yo.'

Avoiding the penetrating stare that Tseng shot his way Reno shoved himself to his feet and pulled off a convincing sashay over to the kitchenette. While he rustled around finding everything he needed to create his culinary masterpiece Reno looked over his shoulder and said as steadily as possible, 'You can stop staring yo, I'm not about to grow an extra head. The head I have seems to be in a crapload of a better headspace than it was 'kay? Dammit, stop boring a hole in my back alright Bossman?'

A delicately nuanced snort behind him told Reno that Tseng had averted his eyes but still needed to be persuaded that his Turk was anywhere near better. Safely turned away from prying eyes, a grim smile flitted across Reno's face to be just as swiftly replaced by a carefully crafted expression of thoughtful placidity. The consummate actor anyway, Reno threw himself into the role of healing survivor and the secondary part of chef extraordinaire, whipping up a heavenly meal of scrambled eggs that he placed in front of Tseng with a flourish.

Breakfast was eaten in relative silence broken only by Tseng's reluctant murmur of appreciation and just as the two Turks were finishing their meal a crisp knock on the door drained away the small amount of ease that had accumulated. Wordlessly Reno got up and took the plates to the sink, trying to breathe calm through his body and Tseng walked quickly to the door so as not to keep Rufus waiting. Without waiting to be invited in the vice-president of ShinRa strode inside and sat authoritatively at the table with his hands clasped in front of him.

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When he walked into the safe-house Rufus swept his gaze across his Turks in a visual interrogation as he moved over to the table and sat down. Though he would never show it in his expression Rufus was actually shocked by the pallid exhaustion showing in Tseng's face and the air of fragility surrounding the usually irrepressible Reno. Back straight and eyes stern Rufus seated himself at the kitchen table and waited for Reno and Tseng to join him.

Tseng sat first, exerting what seemed to Rufus to be, a large amount of effort to appear his usual stoic self. Rufus added this to his growing mental file on the high ranking Turk and permitted himself a small inward grin at what this indicated. Then Reno wandered over in a pale imitation of his customary slouch and Rufus narrowed his eyes at how brittle and forced the redhead's manner appeared. Rufus could see that Reno was projecting one hell of a front, but he was positive that his happy-go-lucky Turk was anything but what he appeared.

Doing his usual trick of letting an uncomfortable silence elapse Rufus finally shifted and broke the tension, running a slender hand through his messy blonde hair. He knew that the following conversation wasn't going to be fun but as always he met the challenge head on. 'Reno, you will know that Tseng has told me about what occurred last night. Not to sound like a mother chocobo but it worries me that you are this unstable. I will admit that I am currently at a small loss as to what to do with you, I would be interested to hear what you have to say about all of this.'

Rufus raised an eyebrow when Reno didn't miss a beat and replied without hesitation, 'Last night will not happen again sir. There were… The circumstances were unique yo. I had just found out that new Turks had been recruited under that fucking psycho and then, uh, something happened to trigger one fuck of a flashback. Kinda like a perfect storm ya know?'

Tseng flinched minutely at the mention of 'something' triggering Reno's flashback and Rufus snapped a sharp glance his way. When he looked back at Reno though, the redhead had an all too familiar stubborn look on his face and started talking again before Rufus could open his mouth. 'I have a request Rufus and this is important yo. I want to go back to work. Sitting here doing nothing while Veld treats the Turks like his own psycho delicatessen will drive me totally fucking batshit yo.'

It wasn't often that Rufus was caught by surprise but Reno had managed it. Then Tseng also startled him. The second Reno finished speaking Tseng cut in with a harsh exclamation, 'Over my dead fucking body Reno, there is no way I'm letting you anywhere near Veld!' Reno cringed back at Tseng's tone but then coughed out a curse when Tseng grabbed him by the arm and ignoring Rufus completely yanked him into the hall. Once they were out of earshot of the kitchen Tseng turned furious brown eyes on Reno.

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It had taken all of Reno's strength to keep his mask in place to make his request of Rufus and he had almost forgotten that Tseng was in the room such was the intensity he was focusing on the son of Shinra. When Tseng had snarled across the table at him Reno had unconsciously flinched away but when his boss had grabbed him and bodily dragged him from the room his anger had ignited abruptly. Tseng had stopped about halfway down the hall and at that moment Reno shoved him into the wall with all his strength.

What was meant to be a furious glare from Tseng turned to shock as his back hit the wall and he could only gape wordlessly as Reno went off like a bomb. 'You ever touch me like that again Tseng and I swear I'll rip your fucking hand off yo! I always thought you were a reasonable dude, intelligent too yo, but you fucking know why I lost it last night and you fucking did it again! You might be the Bossman, Bossman but you don't get to fucking touch me, got it?'

Staring at Tseng with rage burning in his eyes Reno waited tautly for the shit to hit the fan. Even as submerged in anger as he was, Reno was aware that he might possibly have just crossed the line and now he waited for the roaring fury to destroy his world. Tseng's response however so wrong-footed Reno that he swayed on the spot and nearly fell.

Words so quiet they were almost a whisper fell from Tseng's lips, 'I apologize Reno. There is no excuse for the way I acted. The reason, not the excuse, is that… The thought of him near you is unacceptable. You cannot go back if there is any chance at all that he can hurt you again… Yúbèn de… I can't let you… Fuck Reno, I can't protect you if you go back there!'

Tseng's quiet apology had drained some of Reno's ire but the frantic words that followed sent him shooting to the heights of pure fury and then just as suddenly into the strange seas of bewilderment. Mind stressed almost beyond its limits Reno went to abruptly turn away but had to choke back a scream when Tseng desperately grabbed his shoulder, spinning him back around and pushing him against the wall. Whatever Tseng had been able to say was lost at the expression of terror in Reno's blue-green eyes.

In a trembling voice, so quiet as to be on the very edge of hearing, Reno whispered, 'Let me go Tseng, please don't…'

As if he had been burned Tseng jerked his hand away and half turned to hide his expression from Reno. Summoning every last scrap of self-control and strength that he possessed, Reno pushed himself away from the wall and stood up straight. Not looking at Tseng he said, 'I will be going back to ShinRa yo. I can't sit on the side-lines of whatever Rufus has planned. And Tseng? Don't doubt me for a second on this, if you touch me that way again I am fucking gone.' Leaving Tseng staring after him Reno strode back into the kitchen to sit across from Rufus who was sitting calmly, waiting with a briefcase on the table in front of him.

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Rude had been like a caged animal waiting for the call that Rufus had promised from Reno. As the morning dragged on into the afternoon he became more and more tense and even put a dent in an innocent tree when Yuffie didn't take the hint that leaving him alone was probably a good idea. Now, alone in the frilly, overly feminine tent, Rude was glaring at the vidscreen as if it had stabbed his mother. When the device did finally start beeping to signal an incoming call Rude almost knocked it off the table in his haste to answer.

Silently Rude thanked Gaia for his tinted shades as the image of Reno hunched over the other vidscreen slowly brightened. Although he was known to be impassive to a fault Rude couldn't stop his eyes from widening at the haggard and totally un-Reno-like Reno looking back at him. Lost for words for a long moment Rude tried to pull himself back together and offered a strained grin, saying as lightly as he could manage, 'Fucking hellfire Reno, I leave you alone for a few days and look atcha. You should comb your hair prettyboy, you're starting to look like a used tampon. Yo.'

Caustic humor had always been his easy out with Reno but the silence following his opening words made his heart sink. It was only when Reno burst out with his first genuine laughter in days that Rude took a breath and let out a low chuckle of his own. Sounding more like himself than he had in ages Reno grinned back, 'I missed seeing your ugly mug, Rude old buddy. Without it there I thought I'd gone to heaven yo. Where the hell are you anyway?'

With the tension slightly easing Rude noticed for the first time that standing behind Reno were Rufus and a grim looking Tseng. He wasn't sure how he was meant to answer Reno's question but his short mental struggle was cut off when Rufus moved forward and sat down next to the redhead. Tseng remained motionless behind the two men but Rufus ignored this and met Rude's eyes through the vidscreen. A jolt of nervousness shot through Rude as he had never seen such an intense expression on Rufus' usually blank face.

Smoothly, as if he were ordering a coffee, Rufus said in an even tone, 'I'm glad that we four are speaking together, despite the adverse events that brought us to our respective locations. To ensure we are all on the same page, Rude, I will need you to briefly tell Reno and Tseng where you are and how you got there. Then, if he wants, Reno can share his recent developments and I will follow by giving you the overall picture of what we must do from here. There is much to discuss and I would have preferred a more propitious time and place but things are moving faster than I anticipated.'

Staring suspiciously at Rufus for a moment and mentally shelving any questions he had about Reno's 'recent developments' Rude nodded jerkily. Collecting his thoughts he said, 'Reno, Tseng, you might not know that on 'that night' I was dispatched on a mission to Wutai. From the start it seemed like a bullshit objective and I quickly found out that it was more like a Gaia-damned suicide mission. I was targeted personally by the forces of a warlord and there was one point that I would have died had Rufus not sent a fucking ninja princess to save my ass and take me to this stronghold of their resistance. Please don't freak out Reno, but it was Veld that sent me to die, knowing that I was the one who found you.'

Aware that he had dropped a metaphorical bomb on his partner Rude watched Reno's face carefully. What he saw bewildered him for Reno simply narrowed his eyes slightly and nodded once, all with no expression on his face whatsoever. Mind racing wildly, Rude noticed that he was not the only one perturbed by Reno's demeanor as Tseng looked like he had just sunk his teeth through his own lip. The confused Turk's attention was pulled back to Reno though when the redhead awkwardly pulled himself up straighter on his chair and cleared his throat.

Rude listened to Reno's account of the last few days silently, committing brutal murder behind his eyes at the thought of what Veld had to answer for. When his partner emotionlessly recounted the shitstorm that has been the previous night though Rude lost it and spat out a curse so obscene that even Reno blinked in surprise. Unable to listen to any more Rude snarled abruptly, 'When can we put your fucking plan into effect Rufus, this shit cannot go on any longer. And you Reno, do something like that again and I'll resurrect you just so I can rip you a new one!'

At last Rude's uncharacteristic explosion seemed to have gotten through and a spasm of guilt was visible in Reno's eyes before he nodded and looked down at the table. Rude's eyes were drawn by a twitch from Tseng who had a strange expression on his face but Rufus spoke again and all eyes were once again on the young vice-president. 'To answer your question Rude there has already been movement in the plan. I will however need to enlighten Reno and Tseng on precisely what we're doing before I go into that.'

Grimly nodding Rude watched as his boss turned to face the two Turks in the kitchen. He listened to Rufus reveal the plan to recruit a fighting force from the Wutai resistance with Rude as a rallying point and then his stomach tightened and he carefully watched Reno's reaction as Rufus went on to talk about the devious ghost scheme involving Elena and Vincent. It made Rude's chest hurt to see Reno trying to hide the worry and fear that washed over his face and at the moment he would have given anything to be back in Midgar, standing like a human shield between his partner and the whole damn world.

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Rude's reaction to what he had done cut Reno deeply and he couldn't hide the flash of guilt that burnt red on his face before he looked down. Rufus' spiel about Rude's whereabouts passed over Reno's head for the most part but his ears cut in again when he heard the names of the two new Turks. Again making mockery of his carefully constructed mask Reno's emotions broke free and upon hearing what had happened earlier with Elena and Vincent he had to rest his elbows on his knees and hang his head to hide his devastation.

Choosing his moment well Evil Reno piped up maliciously in Reno's head, 'Well well, more people put in the firing line for your worthless ass yo, what a fucking surprise. I knew that you were capable of fucking up your own life, but look! Lives totally screwed all over the place and it's all thanks to you yo! You haven't even met those two new Turks and you're managing to royally fuck them up too. I wonder how badly that guy Vincent was injured because you fucking suck. Why couldn't you just have the decency to die on the first attempt?'

Keeping up with Rufus and Rude's conversation while trying to block out his vicious inner voice took all of Reno's concentration and he had no energy to spare for peripheral issues; like Tseng. While Reno determinedly argued his case with his skeptical big bossman Tseng stood back and literally bit his tongue, with great effort keeping the hell out of the argument. Just the thought of Reno being in the vicinity of the increasingly unstable Veld chilled Tseng to the bone but his conversation with the redhead had brought home the unwelcome fact that even though he was the bossman he had no say in this.

Rude, from the distant tent at Shadowtree, also felt his gorge rise at the thought of Reno returning to ShinRa but he admitted to himself almost straight away that his opinion had no bearing whatsoever on the situation. Slowly the big man eased himself out of the dialogue and simply watched the scene unfolding through the vidscreen. From his removed perspective Rude was able to see the barely concealed desperation in Reno's face and he gritted his teeth in an effort to stay silent.

Though he was verbally jousting with Reno about returning to ShinRa Rufus' mind was elsewhere, still trying to assimilate the redheaded Turk's strange request into his plans. The quick mind of the son of Shinra soon had the beginnings of a scheme and a tiny smile quirked the corners of his mouth before he leaned forward and the discussion began in earnest. Rufus was fully aware of the disapproval radiating in waves off of Tseng but his pragmatic nature told him that he couldn't rank the emotions of one person over the wellbeing and lives of all of his Turks. 

**Yúbèn de – Stupid.**  
**(1) ****Clumsy reference to NZ movie What Becomes of the Broken Hearted. 'Cook me some fucken eggs' has become a very Kiwi thing to say... Because we're cool like that lol.**

**A/N: Totally continuing this story by the way, just life is getting in the way. There will be updates so if you like my fic just bear with me :)**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine.

The halls of ShinRa were silent as had become the norm in the days of Veld the psycho but there was now a barely noticeable hum in the air. Fleeting whispers, started secretly by Vincent, circulated that Veld had snapped, was seeing things and that the Director of the Turks was losing his mind. Nothing was said but it was noticed by all that Veld went straight to his office in the morning and that his door remained shut and locked even if someone got up the courage to knock. It was lunchtime when Vincent saw Veld finally emerge and the dark haired man smirked to see his Director looking disheveled and more than a little unhinged.

Under the pretext of calling for a restock of medical supplies Vincent called Rufus and appraised his real boss of the developments in their plan. In return he was told in guarded and coded terms of what was happening with the Turk Reno, who he had heard about but never met. Vincent acknowledged the message, that he was to be Rufus' eyes in the Turks and that he was also to do what he could to keep Veld away from the Weapons Department. Both Rufus and Vincent knew that Veld had as little to with Weapons as possible but neither of them wanted a chance encounter

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Reno stood in front of Scarlet trying his best to appear both nonchalant and unafraid. Her chilly blue eyes seemed to see straight through his facade but thankfully she just snorted and turned away gesturing abruptly for him to follow. Swaggering outrageously to cover the slight shaking of his legs Reno half listened to Scarlet drone on about his role in the Materia Lab but most of his mind was taken up with thanking Gaia for Rufus. He honestly hadn't thought that Rufus would take his request seriously and now he was back at ShinRa he was pathetically grateful for whatever story Rufus had spun for Scarlet to take him on.

Snapping back to the present Reno caught enough of Scarlet's spiel to understand what he would be doing and he nodded curtly. Reno was slightly taken aback when, as soon as his chin dipped in acknowledgement, Scarlet spun on her heel and stalked away to whatever critical project his appearance had dragged her away from. In the silence left in Scarlet's wake Evil Reno began to whisper in Reno's thoughts but the voice actually fell silent as Reno engrossed himself in his new project.

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Tseng was also back at work for the first time in days but he was much less pleased about it than Reno was. His desk was across the building from Veld's office so he never so much as laid eyes upon the Director of the Turks and the pile of paperwork on his desk kept his hands occupied if not his mind. He was on the edge of swearing under his breath, an unusual event in public, when he decided it was time for a substandard coffee and not two minutes later he found himself face to face with Vincent in the kitchen. When the pale man beckoned subtly Tseng didn't hesitate and with coffee in hand he followed Vincent up to the rooftop.

Seconds passed silently as Tseng stared into Vincent's rust-red eyes, trying to evaluate just what sort of man stood alongside him for what promised to be a vicious fight. Though this was his first meeting with the new Turk Tseng only took an instant to judge Vincent as a dedicated and firm ally and he nodded crisply in approval. Vincent took this as his cue to start talking and as the man's perspective on what they now called 'the haunting' washed over him Tseng smiled inwardly and mused that they might just have a chance after all.

Vincent took Tseng step by step through his beating and the appearance of Elena's ghost and when he got to the part where Veld broke and ran he stopped, unnerved by the sheer savagery in the smile that twisted across Tseng's face. Tseng just couldn't supress the snarling grin and he dropped his stoic mask completely to let out a slightly demonic sounding chuckle. Seeing Vincent's eyes widen comically made Tseng laugh even more and soon the two men were helpless with laughter, releasing their tension in uncontrollable side-splitting guffaws.

Tseng finally calmed down enough to breathe properly and he waited while Vincent wiped away hysterical tears. Moving closer when the pale man beckoned Tseng listened carefully to Vincent as he outlined what he termed 'further fuckery from the mind of Shinra' and by the time Vincent had finished Tseng was itching to get started. An idea hit Tseng suddenly and he stopped Vincent before he could open the door that led back inside.

A grim smile quirked the corner of Tseng's lips and he said, 'I believe that we should call Rufus and have ourselves a serious talk. This brief update was enough to appraise me of the progress of the plan to date, but in order for each one of us to offer our expertise to facilitating Veld's downfall we need to cut out the Wutaiin Whispers. If Rufus can smuggle us up to wherever he has stashed Elena I think we could hatch something truly diabolical.'

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Reno's day had consisted of mind-bogglingly complicated equations pertaining to the effects of certain materia on experimental weaponry. Those who worked with him would have been shocked to find out that Reno had a natural talent for mathematics and they would have been downright stunned to witness the innovative approach he was taking to his new work. For the time being though, Reno was glaring at a collection of five different volatile materia combinations, stalled where he was and having to wait for his experiment to complete itself.

The waiting was causing the redhead a couple of problems, the largest of which was that the lack of preoccupation gave him time to think, which led directly to the triumphant return of Evil Reno. Although he knew that the materia combinations needed at least thirty more minutes before he could study the results Reno glared harder at the hapless samples and tried to ignore the insidious whisper inside his brain.

Gleefully Evil Reno murmured, 'Back to work huh fuckface? Are you trying to see how many departments you can fuck up before they give up and let Veld kill you? You entertain me yo, it's like watching a mentally subnormal duck trying to ice-skate… Completely pointless but funny as all fuck. I wonder what that Scarlet bitch will do to you when you screw up her precious weapons…'

Reno grimaced and shook his head weakly but the voice continued relentlessly, 'You know what yo, this lab isn't all that far away from the Turks' building. Do you reckon they put you in here hoping that Veld might just turn up and do them all a favour? Tseng might have even suggested it, Gaia knows you're worse than a fucking anvil around his neck… Hey! Weapons! They could have put you here hoping against hope that you'd off yourself properly yo! There'd be no saving your worthless ass if you used one of Scarlet's shiny guns…'

A lump in Reno's throat made it difficult to breathe and though he tried desperately to think about something else he couldn't block out Evil Reno's words. The barb about being a burden on Tseng felt like a stab to the gut and Reno's eyes were just starting to reluctantly drift towards the weapons rack when a strange chiming sound came from the direction of his materia samples. Reno snapped his gaze over to the five materia experiments and his mouth dropped open at what he saw.

Four of the experiments were inert and useless but the fifth was emitting a low bell-like noise and shining with a soft white light. Shoving himself up out of his chair Reno stumbled over and was stunned to see that the combination of materia had fused together and seemed to be morphing into something new. Staring at this astounding discovery mind racing with possibilities Reno didn't hesitate a second when Evil Reno started up again, he shook his head and thought absently 'Shut up', barely even aware that his inner bastard fell instantly silent.

By the time he finally staggered out of the back entrance to the Weapons Building Reno was ready to drop. He had gotten so focused on detailing the results of his unexpected success with the materia that he had lost track of time, consequently not leaving the building until the sun was starting to set. As the weary Turk stepped out of the door he was immediately swept away by a pair of filthy street sweepers and even though he had been briefed about Rufus' security measures he had to control his trained impulse to drop the two men where they stood.

The journey home was made by way of the sewers which were pretty familiar to Reno and he kept up with the breathless pace set by his escorts despite the tiredness gnawing on his bones. When the door finally closed behind Reno it was all he could do to stay on his feet and though some part of his brain registered the fact that Tseng didn't seem to be there he left that thought for another day and stumbled to his bedroom before falling face first on the bed. With his clothes on and not even able to burrow under the covers, sleep hit Reno like a runaway chocobo.

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At roughly the same time that Reno was making his discovery, Rude was being cheerfully assaulted by a grinning ninja princess. Fending the burbling girl off with one hand Rude pinched the bridge of his nose with the other and gritted his teeth against a frustrated groan. Much as the Turk appreciated Yuffie's stylish and efficient rescue of him and his charges Rude was fighting a losing battle against exasperation with the irrepressible ninja. Abruptly giving up Rude let the girl drown him in joyous hugs and when she had calmed down somewhat he half-listened to her high-pitched babbling.

Rude's apathy lasted approximately ten seconds before he was staring intently at Yuffie and hanging on her every word. In between twittering about nonsense the girl had hit upon the idea of holding a competition to gather the team of warriors Rude would need to bring across the sea to Rufus. The very concept captured Rude's imagination and he was unable to suppress a cool, calculating smile that silenced Yuffie due its total incongruity.

Still grinning like a predatory Kalm Wolf Rude gently pressed Yuffie into a chair and started to speak thoughtfully about his revelation, 'A competition is all well and good Yuffie but to really sell the idea we need something to catch their imaginations. A tournament. They would give their all to become the Champion of Shadowtree, the strongest fighter of the resistance. And then if we told them about the team we need to form to help bring down one of the benefactors of those warlord bastards I think they would fight for the chance to be part of our group of warriors.'

By the time Rude finished Yuffie was bouncing up and down on her chair and finally she couldn't contain herself. The beaming girl burst out, 'Oh Gaia Rude, thank you, thank you, thank you! Now I get to plan a tournament and build up the spirits of my people and it's all thanks to you! Just leave it to me and I'll have our best fighters giving their all to prove they will kick that Veld guy's ass for you…'

Rude sat there with his grin still on his face as Yuffie's last sentence trailed off into the distance. Though he wasn't generally known for his quick thinking, Rude was trying to sort through whirling thoughts that were shooting around his mind faster than a rampaging Cactuar and the concept of the tournament seemed to be bringing out his inner creativeness. Grabbing a piece of parchment Rude began to scribble down logistical notes for the organization of such a huge event, the sound of Yuffie's high-pitched badgering floating in from outside.

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Tseng stepped out of Rufus' car in the pitch black of midnight and as his employer drove away the usually controlled man found he had to lean against the door while he tried to take in the information that had inundated him over the last few hours. The meeting with Elena, Vincent and Rufus had been illuminating to say the least and by the time he had left the apartment Tseng felt savagely confident that Veld was on his way down.

Aware that it was ridiculously late Tseng crept quietly into the house and stood for a few minutes at the bottom of the stairs, uncharacteristically indecisive. Though he knew that Reno was probably dead asleep Tseng still wanted to make sure that the redhead had survived the day okay, but he also didn't want to seem over-attentive. Losing the battle with himself Tseng ghosted up the stairs and slipped into Reno's room making less noise than a feather on the wind.

There was a thin strip of light streaming into Reno's room through a chink in the curtains, the shimmering green radiance of mako. Tseng could see the gauntness of Reno's face in the not-quite-dark and he felt an ache in his chest as he watched the redhead fidget restlessly in his sleep. Thinking to simply sit and collect himself before crashing in his own bed Tseng slumped into the overstuffed chair by the bed but before he knew it the exhausted man was out like a light.

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_The world around Reno was a sickly green and smelt like blood and concrete. No matter how hard he strained his eyes he was blinded by the swirling fog and a shudder ripped through his body as he heard a footstep behind him. Reno spun around in a crouch, his hair waving sluggishly as if through water, but there was no one behind him, only the sense of malevolence watching him. For the first time ever Reno's nerve broke entirely and he fled into the mist._

_No matter how fast he pushed his legs Reno could feel the presence getting nearer. Fear raised goosebumps all over his body and to make things even worse a low whisper cut through the unnatural silence, his own voice, the voice of Evil Reno. Forcing himself even faster, running from the unseen monster, Reno tried to do the impossible and outrun the darkness within himself._

'_Give it up yo, the terror will getcha.' The voice hissed in Reno's right ear causing him to stagger slightly and cut to the left. 'I'm in you, you fucking idiot, you can't escape me just like you can't escape what's chasing you. I know what's following you yo, would you like to know? I can clue your tiny little brain into what will drag you screaming into hell…'_

_Reno bit his tongue hard enough to draw blood and muttered, 'Shut up, shut up! Get the fuck out of my head, I hate you so fucking much!'_

_From behind the Turk a low snarl echoed through the fog forcing him to banish all thoughts except those of flight. Reno's breath was starting to burn in his chest and although Evil Reno had fallen silent he could feel the glee of the bastard in his mind. Time seemed to slow and Reno could hear thudding footsteps right behind him, his legs wouldn't move any faster and the hand that closed around his arm dragged a moan from his throat. Yanked around, muscles drained of strength, Reno stared into the demonic face of Veld and began to scream._

Ripping himself out of sleep Reno didn't know where he was and barely knew who he was. Ragged screams tore from the man's throat and still half caught in the nightmare he scrambled backwards on the bed until he was jammed in the corner of the wall. Wide-open eyes saw nothing but the grinning face of Veld so Reno's heart nearly stopped when he felt himself pinned by a pair of strong arms and all he could think of was escape.

Tears ran unheeded down Reno's face as his frantic struggles barely even shook the person holding him and a broken groan took the last of his strength. As he went limp the voice of the person confining him managed to break through Reno's terror and he bewilderedly wondered when Veld had eaten Tseng's voice. Reality began to shatter the hold of the dream and finally realizing he was safe, Reno surrendered control completely and lost himself to shuddering sobs.

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Unaware he had fallen asleep Tseng was totally disoriented when something shocked him awake again. Panicked in a way that he totally wasn't used to Tseng sat bolt upright in his chair and after a moment of confusion he figured out that he was still in Reno's room and, oh Gaia, the horrible noise that had awoken him was Reno screaming. Shaken by the pure horror in Reno's screams Tseng was jolted into action and launched himself at the man, wrapping his arms around him in an attempt to snap Reno back into the real world.

Tseng bit his tongue when Reno flailed and elbowed him in the face but instead of pulling away he trapped Reno's arms and squeezed him gently to his chest. Remembering how he had talked Reno back into consciousness only a few nights before Tseng threw away whatever was left of his pride and began to murmur soft words in his native language. It wasn't until Reno's tension abruptly drained away and he started crying uncontrollably that Tseng let out a nearly inaudible sigh of relief.

Still muttering comfortingly Tseng simply held Reno and let the man release some of the poison pent up inside. Listening to the unfathomable pain in Reno's sobs had Tseng trying not to tear up too and by the time Reno began to get himself together Tseng was having to force his voice to work around a lump in his throat. He felt Reno fall still eventually and in his relief he couldn't help running his fingers through disheveled red hair and briefly pressing the other man tight to his chest.

To Tseng it seemed like it was becoming a habit but he couldn't bring himself to dwell on it as his eyes met Reno's watery aquamarine gaze. Softly so as not to startle Reno Tseng said, 'You have an uncanny way of comprehensively waking me up Reno. That sounded rather traumatic from this end. Do you want to talk about it at all?'

Patiently Tseng watched the emotions battle for supremacy on Reno's face before the redhead said haltingly, 'It wasn't that bad yo, it was more the memories and shit. I didn't know that you could get a flashback in a dream… Hah, now I know better yo. Shit Tseng, bossman, today went so well and then this… I hate having all this in my head.'

Tseng hesitated for a second not sure if he was pushing too hard but in a moment of abandon he blurted, 'Reno, you don't have to deal with this alone. You don't have to hide this all inside and try and fight it yourself. Tell me what happened… Please?'

Wincing inside at the pleading tone in his voice Tseng snapped his mouth shut and looked away. He flicked his gaze back to Reno though when the man's trembling hand reached up and settled on his shoulder. 'This goes no further yo… I can't… No one else can know. Not Rufus, not Rude, no one 'kay?'

The silence drew out until Tseng firmly nodded then Reno sighed and continued, 'The beatings were going on for a long time yo, I messed up a lot. I deserved most of what I got, you know what a fuck up I am. But that last time… He was looking at me but more like through me yo. Then I screamed. I, I couldn't help it yo it hurt so bad but… Oh Gaia Tseng he liked it. It wasn't until I screamed that he started... That's when he… Fuck I can't do this!'

Tseng sat stunned at Reno's disjointed words and immediately regretted reaching for his friend when Reno jerked away from him. Trying to work out what the hell you say to something like that Tseng was a little taken aback when Reno started talking again in a defeated whisper, 'I don't know what it was about me Tseng. I've seen a couple of other people stagger out of the basement before but never… I think he liked my pain yo, more than anyone's, that's why he…'

Reno paused again for a moment and Tseng's attention sharpened as the redhead wiped all expression off his face, fixed his gaze on the duvet and continued, 'I don't cry yo, though the last week begs to differ I guess. But that day he kept hitting me until he couldn't lift his arm, I think that was when he broke my ribs, and I couldn't stop the tears and he saw. He ripped me to fuck yo but that, well fuck, that wasn't the worst. H-he made me c-cum.'

The last words were said in the ghost of a whisper but rocked Tseng's world like a Meteor. A large number of small details clicked into place to form a horrible but comprehensible picture and Tseng was overwhelmed by a strange, stomach-churning combination of rage and utter, heart-breaking helplessness. The look on Reno's face, one of desolation and resignation, bypassed Tseng's brain and before he knew it he was once again holding Reno close as if he were about to disappear.

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In the billowing tent of purple and gold Rude was sitting hunched over at the desk trying not to spit and Yuffie was glaring at him with a look that promised pain if she didn't get her way. In a tone of forced calm Rude ground out for the hundredth time, 'No Yuffie. In fact, fuck no. The fucking champion of the fucking tournament does not fucking get to fight me. You've done a great job of pulling this thing together but no!'

Yuffie's eyes widened at the excessive obscenities spilling from the usually contained man sitting at her desk but she still leaned forward and got right in his face without hesitation. The ninja girl's voice didn't bode well as it was coated with iron as she said, 'The people who choose to leave their own fight and follow you need to know that they have a leader who can lead, you qīngwā cāo de liúmáng! Gaia Rude, these people don't just need a boss, they need a fucking hero and unfortunately that has to be you!'

Glaring daggers at the petite girl Rude was totally unable to come up with a plausible rebuttal. The hulking Turk's mind doggedly flicked through his available arguments but discarded them all in an instant. Able at least to admit when he was beat, Rude sighed loudly and said with a tight smile, 'Alright, it seems you win this round little ninja. I guess I'm just glad to be on the same side as you. A will like that I'm surprised you haven't united Wutai and taken over the world.'

The change was scarily quick and complete, in an instant Yuffie went from murderous to butterflies and glittery things. With a smile so winning that birds fell from the trees in adoration Yuffie fluttered her eyelashes, 'I'm the secret weapon alright, but don't tell anyone. Otherwise it wouldn't be a secret and I'd have to castrate you with my shuriken and pour hot tar over the wound.'

Rude could only stare in a mixture of amusement and horror as Yuffie winked and made enthusiastic gestures meant to convey the idea of brutal de-balling. Skipping to the entrance of the tent Yuffie looked over her shoulder and delivered a well-aimed parting shot, 'Better get your beauty sleep oh great and mighty Turk. In three days' time you'll be the Champion of Shadowtree, leader of the fighting elite and we can't have you looking like shit for that can we?'

A/N Translation:

Qīngwā cāo de liúmáng – Frog humping son of a bitch.


End file.
